Always Save You
by DragonPhoenix16
Summary: Zhalia betrayed the Foundation that day.The Organization proclaimed Dante Vale dead and captured prodigy Seekers,Lok Lambert & Sophie Casterwill.A month later,the crumbling Foundation strikes back at the Organization for the last time. D/Z. L/S. AU
1. Prologue: The Fall

**_This was inspired by fandomlover's Dark is the Day story. I wanted to write what would happen if Zhalia didn't betray the Organization that day in Dracul's castle. This story takes place from different view points but mainly stays with Dante, Zhalia, Sophie and Lok. The POV is in italics._**

**_fandom this is for you._**

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Prologue:

_Zhalia_

From the shadows, I watched as Klaus fired a Poison Fang that struck Dante on the back. I winced for him but other than that I didn't move. Dante was winded and struggled to breathe. I'm sure that the magic of the shot would have burned his skin but not go through his clothes. Klaus's magic and experimentation with it always led to the bodily harm of the person instead of having to go through any barriers such as clothing.

Dante was alone. No one was there to help him and for this once, I truly could do nothing.

"I see you are no fool, Vale." Klaus said making me almost scoff, "You are an ideal specimen…That is, for me lab."

"So, now what? are you going to finish me off?" Dante asked as he struggled to get back on his feet, but his arms collapsed from under him and he settled for resting on his elbow.

"No," Klaus answered meaning a cue for me and a shock for Dante. I stepped out of the shadows to reveal myself to him. Klaus smiled at the shocked expression that crossed Dante's face as he answered, "She is."

"Zhalia?!" Dante asked incredulously, his voice tinged with worry and betrayal.

Those shocking amber eyes of his locked onto me and I almost took a step back, but I kept my composure and walked up to Klaus handing him the bag of Vlad Dracul's Titans. I struggled to keep my emotions and shot out nothing but a blank and emotionless stare.

"Finish him," Klaus ordered of me as he stepped to the side of the tower allowing me clear access to the battlements, and to Dante.

"Double Spell," I whispered, "Venomhand."

Both of my hands came to life with eerie purple green aura that swirled around my fingers and my palm. Down to my wrists, the aura of the magic pulsed with life and meant death. Just two blows one to the neck to cut off his breathing and one to the heart would surely kill him. I raised my right hand and was about to launch a strike when-

"Zhalia." he whispered my name, pleadingly. I hesitated.

"_I know that at the end of the day I can trust you._"

"_Zhalia, you're a good person. I know that."_

"I'm sorry." I replied, my voice almost inaudible but from the look that registered in his eyes I knew that he had heard. But his amber gaze wouldn't leave me and I couldn't kill him straight so I brought my left hand across his cheek, backhanding him and knocking him unconscious.

However, Caliban was still invoked and he launched at me, sword raised ready to defend his bonded Seeker. I was about to shoot a power at him but it would have been the same as killing Dante to me. Caliban landed on the roof and brandished his sword…at Klaus, not at me. Dante's Titan was…defending me?!

I watched, frozen, as the other mutated Seeker used Hyperstride to fly over Caliban and me and fired spells that missed the Titan completely and exploded near me almost knocking me off my feet.

"Hey, watch it!" I screamed at them as I turned to the Seeker who lay at my feet.

A strike to the heart and he'd be dead. My mission would be a success and I could quit it with all these lies…about me being trustworthy and about me being a good person.

"Venomhand!" I cried as I raised my hand, but as soon as I knelt down beside him I hesitated.

Memories came flooding back and flashed before my eyes. I called off the spell and whispered, "Thoughtspecter."

One Raypulse managed to hit Caliban in the back and sent him exploding into a ball of blue energy that disappeared, flying back to its amulet.

Klaus walked up besides me and studied my handiwork.

"You could have just used Venomhand to make it look like an accident." he said as he noticed Dante's neck was angled in an impossible way.

"No visitors even allowed here, authorities wouldn't know and the Foundation will cover up his death." I replied, logically making it out in my head. Klaus nodded satisfied.

"Take his Titans." Klaus ordered, "He won't be using them anymore."

I extended my hand. Amulets I couldn't fake. "Sorrowbond."

Metagolem, Caliban, Freelancer, and Solwing flew out each in different colored orbs and hovered over my hand. I glanced back at their Seeker. Four marks where my nails had made contact with his skin were now four blistered scratches across his left cheek.

"Goodbye," I whispered as I walked away with his Titans in hand. Caliban and Solwing, Dante's main Titans, slipped out of their bond cages and into my hand glowing with new life. It was only when I felt a foreign power did I realize what had just happened. The two of them had just bonded with me.

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**_Next chapter will be up later in the day._**

**_-Phoenix_**


	2. Chapter 1: The Rise of the Organization

**_Well, here's the chapter._**

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Chapter One: The Rise of the Organization

_Zhalia_

It only took a month.

Within that time, the Organization had wiped out any opposition the Foundation offered. My former allies were taken care of. I betrayed any known location I knew. Any that I couldn't remember, I gave Rassimov a flash drive listed with all the locations.

It was decided that we would work up the chain of command, so that meant leaving Dante's house, the Casterwill Manor, and the Lambert residence for last. I even knew where Metz was, but the Professor was determined about taking out those weaker and leaving those stronger without any allies.

Leaving them alone.

I was wandering the halls of the underground laboratory of Vienna, the place where I would train and sometimes live. I didn't take part in any of Klaus's experiments because I couldn't bring myself to stand the accusing glares of Sophie and Lok any longer. I would have slapped or punched them to make sure that their eyes would look elsewhere, but every time I walked into the lab room they would stare at me making their accusing stares shoot guilty daggers through me. Violence wouldn't solve anything and therefore it was futile.

But I learned to get used to it, their stares, and my rising status helped. With my famous kill, came power, respect, and status. I was made Rassimov's right hand on the field. The Professor had been too busy coordinating attacks that he wouldn't go out onto the field for any missions, and he was so hungry for the Legendary Titans that he killed the Amazon village led by Hippolyta when we arrived to take Behemoth, the Legendary Titan of Body- the only mission that he ever left his palace for.

That was only early in the month. Much later, when Rassimov and I went after Scarlet and her team in Ireland, we found that Sandra and Cathy Lambert fled their house leaving almost everything behind except for some pictures and the Titans that I knew had been there when I visited them earlier that summer. Rassimov and I never found Scarlet or her team because they too had fled.

"They're all cowards." Rassimov had said as we headed to the plane.

"What do you think happened?" I asked as I took a seat.

Rassimov threw me a questioning look. "You killed Dante Vale, Zhalia. They fear the Organization now."

He said that with a laugh as he poured himself a drink and went to the back to talk with someone with exotic colored hair wearing leather and so much flashing objects that when sunlight caught them it would send a shower of light throughout the cabin. I knew her as a member of the order that he was involved with. Everyone knew Rassimov's underlying motives but only I and Klaus knew what he truly wanted and what he was going to do.

By the end of August, it became clear as we scoured over Foundation residences, that people had fled. Those that hadn't, and had resigned from the Foundation had had no memory of Titans and were therefore no use to us. The Organization had reached its rise in Europe.

"Are we flying for the States?" I had asked one day to Rassimov when we had finished with the list of houses within Italy that were of the lower rank we would be starting with the top ranking agent soon.

"No, we are to stay here until sometime next year. Maintaining a hold on Europe will be hard, I will need every Seeker here. You will go to the US next summer, perhaps. That little country, even if it does have refugees, cannot match the power of the continent of Europe!"

He was right, of course. The US, politically and economically strong, could not match the whole power of the Organization in Europe. The Foundation had surely begun to fall and the Organization was just beginning to rise.

I wandered into the holding cells where Sophie would be. There were a couple of Seekers that we managed to catch, not all of them could flee Europe, Tersely among one of them. We had just captured him earlier that week and he was still being evaluated and processed. I persuaded Rassimov to let him accompany Sophie when he was done, since we had separated Sophie from Lok and left Cherit to keep Sophie company- that was on Lok's suggestion to which I allowed to pass.

Tersely and Montehue were separated and only the boy was caught when he was trying to defend himself from ten experienced Organization Seekers. I watched as they beat his Titan, separated him from everything and carried him off. He had spotted me and was about to shout it, when he hesitated as if remembering something, and he looked away and stopped struggling.

It was then that I realized that Rassimov was right, the Foundation Seekers were starting to lose hope. Eathon had been legendary and so had Metz but when Eathon went missing and Metz was cursed there was a fall until Dante rose the ranks and restored hope. I crushed it that day on the battlements…hope. Now the Foundation was scattering.

"Sophie?" I asked as I came up on her cell and let the metallic door slide. There was a plasti-glass door with holes punched in it to allow for voice to easily pass through without being muddled. The plasti-glass was also warded and kept Sophie from using powers to harm those on the other side. Wards in her room kept her from using anything more powerful than a Bolt Flare.

When the metal door cleared, I saw her on the bed. Her knees pulled up against her chest and Cherit was flying near the sink of the room. I almost felt sorry for Sophie because she had been hear for nearly a whole month and Klaus hadn't found any interest in her yet to move her into a laboratory room where better accommodations would be in store.

'Cherit," I said as the Titan flew up to the glass, "Has she eaten?"

"Not since yesterday, no." the Titan answered. He was the only one who didn't gain any enmity in his tone.

"Do you want anything?" I asked and saw him turn his head to me with that knowing look in his eyes. "Except freedom?" I said that almost sarcastically.

"No." Cherit answered as he lay down on the bed and leaned against Sophie's leg.

"Sophie, talk to me." I said. She had been withdrawn ever since Rassimov ordered the separation between her and Lok two weeks ago. "Soph?"

"Don't call me that!" she screamed suddenly that it caught me off guard. She looked up at me, her eyes red from crying. Angrily, she jumped to her feet and got off the bed. Cherit was flying around, nervously, not knowing if he should intervene or stay out of her way. She stormed up to the glass and I saw the result of the month and her withdrawal on her.

Her hair was a mess and she hadn't bothered to fix it though I had left her brushes and make up, whatever she needed or wanted. She hadn't bothered to change her clothes either because it was still scratched from the day we had our duel in Dracul's basement.

"Sophie," I cautioned as my hand lit with a Bolt Flare.

"Never, ever call me So-" she stopped mid-theat and stared at me with incredulous eyes.

But she wasn't staring at my eyes. Her gaze was locked with the Titans that I had hung on a chain around my neck. I had had an extra chain made for Caliban and a bracelet from which I could hang Solwing from, but I doubt that she even noticed Solwing.

"Take that off!" she screamed

"Excuse me?!" I asked as I walked closer to the glass. She slammed her open hand on the transparent barrier and it shook under the blow, but she didn't intimidate me. "That! Take it off!" With her free hand she pointed at my neck from which both Kilthane and Caliban were pulsing with glowing light.

"Kilthane? Or Caliban?" I hadn't meant to add mockery to the latter question, but it slipped it, making Sophie more furious.

"Take off _his_ amulet! How dare you even think about bonding with it!" Sophie berated her voice so laced with anger that I thought she'd attempt to use her magic, "You betray him, kill him, and steal his amulets?!"

No one could know the truth. I didn't even tell Sophie and Lok because they would have surely used it as ammunition to shoot me down.

I don't even know what happened to him. But from news, Dante was listed to the Foundation as MIA while the Organization boasted me as their top assassin.

"He was dead. It wasn't like he was going to use them." I snapped back, irritated.

I saw tears well up in her eyes as I reminded her why she, Lok, and Cherit haven't been saved yet. If Dante were alive, he would have come to their rescue by now, attacked this whole base to take them. I'm sure, but he hadn't- and that was the only thing that reassured me that he had died- though everyone thinks it was by my hand.

"It's nice to see that you're talking, Princess." I said with feigned mockery. "Lok's fine by the way. And tomorrow we'll be attacking your manor. Anything you want me to bring back as a souvenir?"

I left without any answer and I didn't want to see the expression on her face. My cell phone gave a low, muffled ring. The tone was the only one I felt like getting, Seether and Amy Lee's Broken. I picked up the cell phone.

"Hello?" I asked as I picked up the phone.

"Zhalia, it's nice to hear your voice again." said someone whose voice I couldn't place at the moment. "I thought you'd want to know- we're coming for all of you."


	3. Chapter 2: The Foundation and Casterwill

**_Disclaimer: Don't own any characters._**

**_Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy, I know I'm enjoying writing this story._**

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Chapter Three: The Foundation and Casterwill

_Zhalia_

I remember every inch of Sophie's house. From the training room on the first floor to the twenty guestrooms on the second and third. The china room was at the back of the house along with a small labyrinth that led to what looked like a mausoleum, which was actually a memorial house for the Casterwill family. Only a Casterwill could enter the house meaning that I had to caution everyone away from it, not knowing what precautions had been put up to protect it.

Yesterday passed quickly and early this morning Rassimov, twenty Suits, and I boarded an Organization jet and flew back to Venice. They rode a car while I took a motorcycle and arrived first. The house had been empty and unwarded leaving it open for us to break through.

I stared and watched as Suits trashed and smashed the china, stole equipment from the training room, and tore apart the bedrooms. Sophie's room wasn't trashed on my orders, much to Rassimov's disapproval. But if that was the only thing I asked for, then he said I could have my way.

I was hoping for some souvenirs, maybe even something to pick up the princess and maybe hope that it would say that I apologize for what I've done to her. I looked over to a bookshelf that had everything but books on it.

On most of the shelves there were pictures. I looked at the one that Tersely had taken when we arrived at the Foundation headquarters, which was when Lok had to present Thor's hammer. We were all there. Dante and Montehue were besides Lok, helping to hold up the hammer. I was at the door holding it open and Sophie had the other door when Tersely said, "Guys, over here." We all looked over and were blinded by a bright light from his digital camera. Luckily, the boys didn't drop the hammer, but they did have to pause and Tersely had to guide them because there were spots in their eyes.

I shook my head of the memory and moved on to a different picture. Here, Lok and Sophie had fallen asleep on the couch. I took the picture hoping to embarrass Sophie, but Dante had been one step ahead of me and developed the picture before deleting it and handing it to Sophie when she woke. I was surprised she framed it.

My fingers skidded across frozen memories until it came to touch an album. On the cover were written, 'Candids'. I smiled as I opened the cover and saw the first photo was of Lok except he was hanging upside down from the monkey bars that Dante had installed in the gym. It was actually meant to build endurance and upper body strength.

I laughed as I read the caption: _He's exactly what he acts like…an idiot or a monkey._

I went through pictures of Lok, Dante, and those moment on our other missions. There was one where Lok was firing a Bolt Flare at Dante that singed the tips of his hair. It was then that his bad hair cut for the next week was clearly explained. I chuckled to myself when I flipped to a picture that showed it when Dante and I had a playful fight that ended up with me pinning him to the ground and taking the key to the safe where he had locked all of our cell phones and any personal electrical devices- the headquarters in every country denied the right to possession of electrical items within the complex and had the right to permanently confiscate it. The moment captured in the picture, of course, had been when I had pinned him down to the ground. I couldn't resist reading the caption that read in Sophie's handwriting: _Two adults? Ha! One adult and a crushing school girl._

The girl had to be me. I shrugged as I flipped the page and saw that there was a caption in one slot but no picture. I saw that Lok's handwriting had wrote the caption. _If ever there was an X-rated moment in his house._

The plastic sleeve that had held the picture had been torn and the rest of the pictures were too boring to be noted, but that picture- I wonder what they had been talking about. X-rated? Between whom? It couldn't have been between Dante and me, could it? Then again, he was the only one that owned a house on the team.

"Zhalia, what are you doing?" came a voice that echoed in the room. I straightened with the book in my hands. There was a Suit at the door, I think her name was Christine. "What's with the book?"

"The girl's been in withdrawal. We need something to get her up before Klaus can start his experimentation with her." I said making a flimsy excuse that she couldn't question. She was after all, my subordinate.

Christine nodded as she walked off, but she came back a moment. "Rassimov wants you in the library as soon as you're done reminiscing your betrayal." she said the latter of her statement was tinged with humor which I let pass as I reviewed the rest of her room grabbing the album and slipping the pictures out of its frames.

At the corner of her room, I spotted a trash can with what looked like remnants of cloth. Cloth that was stained with blood. Judging from the crusted edges, I would have said they were a couple of weeks old. I saw several glass pieces at the bottom of the can with pictures of me in some of the frames. Santiago losing his cool perhaps? But why would he then ditch his bandages in Sophie's trash? Maybe, he didn't have a trash in his own room.

"Zhalia?!" I heard Rassimov's call from the library which was on the same floor.

I ditched the bandages and tucked the album under my arm before running into the library to find pages everywhere. I saw a collection of classics strewn all over the floor. Tomes of Casterwill family heritage had been ripped to shreds. I watched as more Suits tore more books, and like them I was unfazed by what was happening. Feeling no emotion only ensured me that I wasn't caring for them. That I was caring for the success that the Organization could get if they were more cooperative. That's why I was being…kinda nice.

Rassimov threw me an angry and irritated glare as his eyes locked onto the prize I had in my arms. "And what is that?"

"I'm hoping to get Sophie out of her withdrawal." I reiterated and slightly enjoyed the annoyed scowl on his face.

"I hope this gift-giving isn't going to be frequent." His accent made this statement more threatening than it actually was.

"You'll kill the girl eventually, why not alleviate her conditions for a while?" I said.

That seemed to make him accept the issue, "Very true."

The two words were enough to disquiet me and I quickly changed subject, "Why are they tearing the library apart, sir?" I asked as I surveyed the destruction.

"The Casterwills were wielders of Light magic." Rassimov said in matter-of-fact voice. I rolled my eyes.

"No shit." I mumbled, but if he heard me, he made no indication and walked over to a part of the library I never bothered to go to. The shelves were so full of such large leather tomes that they looked too old to be of any interesting use.

"They had enchanted tomes of magic with spells we don't even know of." he continued to explain, "They were here, but someone's been here before us and had emptied these out. The Tomes of Light and those of Dark are both missing."

"Dark and Light?" I asked, perplexed. "But every Seeker uses the same spells."

It was common knowledge that the Organization was known for creating spells that were mostly used by their Seekers and the Foundation had the same. Mindsight and Augurfrost belonged to the Organization while Nimblefire and Honorguard were typically Foundation spells. But there was no deviation between Light or Dark magic. We were left to believe that the magic we used was neutral, after all both Organization and Foundation agents were able to use each others magic if they could master it. Dante used Augurfrost on more than one occasion and so has Lok. I've used Honorguard several times and Nimblefire was a spell I never bothered to master because Hyperstride was the same.

"Our spells are typically neutral. Dark magic spells are dangerous. Only those of the Blood Spiral and I use such magic." he said as he walked over to the shelves and ran his hand across one particular empty shelf. "Casterwill thought to contain the Nullifiers powers so he raided many of the camps and stole tomes of magic, burning most but saving those that had wards placed around them."

"You want the books for the Professor?" I asked, "But without Tao and the Amulet of Will, the Professor will-"

"Everyone knows that the Professor will die. I will take his place and you will take my position." he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. I struggled not to shudder. "I need the magic to bring the Organization to its fullest potential."

"World domination?" I asked.

"Is there anything else?" Rassimov asked. "Many have tried."

"But all have failed." I pointed out.

"Playing devil's advocate, are we?" Rassimov asked with a rare smile indicating he found something amusing. I shrugged in reply and allowed him to continue. "Yes, Zhalia, all those that have tried have failed, but they were mere ordinary mortals. We are Seekers, we possess magic- And thanks to you, opposition has been eliminated."

"You're welcome." I said as I looked out the window.

"You know, I didn't believe you could do it." Rassimov mused, "Take out Mr. Vale. I thought you'd betray us. A month with him and those touchy teenagers-" he shook his head, "You must by more cold-hearted than I thought."

"That's a very flattering compliment." I said sarcastically as a Suit came up to the two of us.

"Sir, there's no magic tomes here." he reported.

"Santiago and LeBlanche must have taken things before they left." I said, "They are alive after all."

Rassimov scowled. "They would've flown to the States. It's the only country where the Foundation remains strong." He turned to look at me. "Your trip to the US might be sooner than we thought."

I shrugged as I walked out. Once the door closed, I shivered and shook the disgust that threatened to explode in me. I didn't wait for anyone and headed out. However, as I walked out the door my cell phone rang once again.

"Hello?" I asked, not quite knowing who was calling today or yesterday.

"Hey, Zhalia." This voice I recognized. It was distinctly bearing a heavy Irish accent.

"Scarlet?" I asked dubiously.

"Of course." she said simply, leaving me to start conversation.

"Who called yesterday?" I asked, knowing that this couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yesterday?" she asked confused. "Look, Zhalia, no doubt you've begun to track this call-"

"I know that you're calling from the States. I don't need a large overseas charge on my cell bill to prove it." I said as I got on my back and tucked the album in my pack that I quickly put on.

"Dante told me, once, that you were smart." she said.

I tried to hide my emotion. "You only need common sense." I said, "The US is the only haven for Foundation refugees."

I heard her laugh. "Oh, Zhalia-"

"Why are you calling?!" I snapped.

"A friendly talk, why?" she asked. "By the way, there are rarely any of us left in Europe. Those who are there have been wiped. Happy hunting, Zhalia."

The line went dead and I cursed. That was entirely stupid. Why the hell would Scarlet call, go into a rhetorical conversation, and then feed me such useless information? I mulled over it for a second before I slipped on my helmet, started the bike, and drove off. Maybe Scarlet was just stupid.

The trip went by fast and before I knew it I was walking down to the holding cells again. The metal door slid back and I saw Sophie meditating.

"Soph-" I started before adding 'ie' when she looked up at me with daggers in her eyes. "I got you something from your place."

She remained on the floor with her legs overlapped while Cherit flew over to the deposit slide and took the album. He stopped to fly in front of the glass.

"Whose side are you on, Zhalia?" he asked, taking me aback.

"I'm with the Organization." I stated. "If I wasn't, you all would be out of here by now." I said firmly.

"Well, you're the nicest agent." Cherit said kindly as he flew with the album and handed it to Sophie, who accepted it gracefully. I saw in her eyes she wanted to ask me questions, but her pride wouldn't let her ask.

"They're safe, you know." I answered as I leaned to the side of the glass and watched as she flipped through the pages, taking out the stray photos that I had nabbed from the frames. She didn't need to know about the smashed photos of me. "Santiago and LeBlanche were gone. They and most of our- your Foundation friends fled."

Suddenly, I was reminded of Tersely.

"By the way, you'll be having a cell mate." I added and she looked up. I knew she was hoping it would be Lok and I enjoyed the chance I had to crush that hope. "It's Tersely." Her eyes dulled, but I guess that she was happy that there would be someone else with her. Her reaction wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it would have to do.

"Rassimov was interested in the tomes of Dark and Light magic." I said, just rambling.

It was lonely despite my new status. People had tried to befriend me, but when I tried to oppose any decision they made, they'd give me space. I was intimidating, and they weren't going to stand up against me. So, I decided against talking to others and chose to talk to Sophie and Lok whenever I could. Sometimes, I'd have a one-sided conversation with Cherit.

Sophie tensed and her eyes froze on a picture, but I could tell that it wasn't the picture that made her nervous. I continued on carefully watching her expressions.

"He said that he and the Blood Spiral specialized in Dark magic. It's too bad he couldn't find any of the books. Looks like Santiago and LeBlanche made away with the books. We suspect they went to the States."

The tension in Sophie's shoulders disappeared and she looked up at her, her brown eyes questioning me and dubious.

"You're lying." she stated simply as she closed the album and got off the floor. She tucked the album in the corner and lay down, ignoring my presence completely.

"I'm not." I said.

"Santiago and LeBlanche didn't take the books." she replied and turned her back to me. I turned to Cherit who shrugged.

"No one else could have done it." I said, "The house was unwarded, so they must have left in a hurry."

She sat upright and stared at me as if waiting for me to give up my bluff. I didn't understand what she was doing, so I stared her coolly in the eyes.

"Oh," she said as she rested. "Yes, they must have left ahead." she agreed.

There was an awkward silence between the two of us.

"Sophie?" I finally asked, my mind drifting back to my time in her house. "There was a picture missing in your album, and I was wondering-"

"You and Dante." she whispered simply, "Montehue caught it when he was visiting us in Italy. That hot summer day when we all decided to take a break. He was hoping to use it against Dante for something, but Lok and I stole the camera and printed it before we deleted."

"Sounds familiar." I mumbled. "Why didn't you show us?"

I knew now what moment Montehue had caught and I tried hard not to blush.

_I found myself backed up against the table, my hand wrapped tightly around the cord._

"_C'mon, Zhalia." he said as he came up to me and reached for the amulet._

"_I can't believe you're still going to work!" I cried as he reached again, but I held my hand back._

"_Evil never sleeps." he said._

"_Where'd you steal that line from? Spiderman?" I asked with a light laugh._

"You didn't need to know." Sophie answered, taking me out of the memory and placing me back in that hallway with her behind a plasti-glass stuck in a cell.

I walked away without a word as the memory continued to roll through my head.

"_C'mon, Zhalia," he said as he reached for Solwing but I took it out of his reach._

"_We don't need a scout. It's called a break remember. A one-day break- the day you don't have to be a professional." I argued when he relented and braced himself on the table. He sighed and his amber eyes met my light brown gaze. His eyes went down for a moment._

_It was then that I realized that I had been half-lying on the table wearing nothing but the ocean colored bikini and he was wearing nothing but jeans. I-_

"Snap out of it." I whispered to myself as I placed my hand on the wall for support and shook my head.

I needed fresh air, but Klaus intercepted me on the way out.

"I need you to take the Lambert boy to his room and get Ms. Casterwill out of her prison. Locate her a new room, too." he said before he turned to head in the other direction.

I just nodded. "Sure."

I hadn't seen Lok in three days. Last time, I'd been forced to duel him because he was being rebellious. I left him with a large bruise on the chest from a Ray Pulse. As I walked towards the lab rooms, I hoped that he wouldn't attack me.

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**_I'll be updating this story a lot._**

**_-Phoenix_**


	4. Chapter 3: Saved Me

Chapter Three: Saved Me

_Lok_

The metal doors slid open with a hiss that had become so familiar over the past two weeks. I found myself praying that it wasn't Rassimov or Klaus. The pain in my arm and the dizzying headache that was getting me nauseous was too much for me to undergo any more interrogation for Foundation locations or experimentation. But when I saw that it was Zhalia, I momentarily forgot that she was an enemy.

"Zhalia, thank God! It's you." I whispered as I rested my head back against the pillowed table. Then, I suddenly remembered my place and shot up with a glare aimed at her. I saw a kind smile on her face before it dissipated when she saw my angry stare.

"Nice to see you, too, Lok." she said as she undid the clamps on my wrists and ankles.

"Another duel?" I asked as I was ready to summon a Bolt Flare to my left hand, but a glowing green hand was at my shoulder before I could even summon the spell.

"Don't even think about it." she hissed at me as she pulled me by the collar and pushed me in front of her. "Klaus is done playing with you. He's taking Sophie in."

I whirled around to face her, but she had already raised her hand towards me with the Venomhand spell spinning around her hand with purple and green light.

"Now?" I asked as I faced her, but the whirling around made my headache worse and I was forced to wince in front of her and put a hand to my throbbing temple.

"I don't know." she answered curtly, though her brown eyes softened when they locked on to me. "Are you alright, Lok?"

She reached out to help steady me, the spell from her hand gone, but I spun away from her and she grabbed nothing but the air. I didn't want her help or her pity. I just wanted information out of her.

"How is she?" I asked as I turned my back on her and walked ahead to my room half stumbling.

"She'll be having Tersely as her roommate." she informed me.

I felt a pang of jealousy. Not that I was jealous of Tersely himself, but that he was going to be with Sophie. My mind drifted back to the first two weeks that we were imprisoned. After Klaus had Suits drag us here, I did everything I could to blast the door open. Sophie and I used all the spells we knew of to try to break the glass, but it had been warded and we eventually gave up. Those first two weeks were better than the rest of the month that I had spent here as a lab rat.

Sophie, Cherit, and I would talk about school, about all the summer work we- I- would miss. We reminisced our missions before Transylvania, but our conversation would always manage to find its way back to Dante and his death. Sometimes it would go to Zhalia and her betrayal, which I didn't believe at first.

I remember those nights when Sophie would cry and start punching at the wall cursing that she had been so caring even when she knew Zhalia was a traitor.

"If I had just fired," she started as tears started to course down her cheeks, "we wouldn't be here, Dante would be alive and Zhalia- she'd be gone."

I held her and comforted her as I assured her that there was nothing that she could have done. "You're a nice person. You wouldn't hurt anyone." I told her to make her stop crying.

We would then share the bed, she'd be in my arms and I would hold on to her, hoping that Dante was secretly alive- that he had outsmarted Zhalia and Klaus and was coming to rescue us. I would stare up at the stone ceiling and imagine Dante trying to track us, getting frustrated that he couldn't, and then getting everyone we knew to help him scour the world.

_He would do that._ I remember myself thinking. But as the days wore on, I began to lose hope. I began to realize that Dante had fallen for the trick, just like the whole Foundation had. It wasn't his fault that he hadn't seen through her, but I think he fell the hardest out of all us. No, I know that he fell the hardest out of all of us.

It had only been two weeks ago that Suits had came into the room and tried to separate the two of us. I think it had something to do with us nearly escaping together when we tried. It had been Rassimov who separated us and even bound Cherit, threatening to kill him, since he was separated from his amulet and couldn't return, unless I cooperated and left. I watched as Zhalia stood in the background, leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed and watching us with emotionless eyes. A small smirk was painted on her lips.

I was then dragged out of the room by three Suits as Rassimov took Cherit and Zhalia locked the door. My memory ended and I turned right onto the gray hallway that led to the dormitory hallway.

"I hate you." I whispered loud enough for her to hear as we approached the hall where my room was.

"Just because I decided to let Sophie have Tersely as her roommate and not you-" Zhalia started innocently.

I remembered the rage I felt every time I remembered that every happy moment we spent as a team was a lie, the rage I felt when Rassimov threatened Sophie and Cherit and Zhalia stood by with a smirk, and the rage I felt when Klaus had told me that Dante was dead and lying on the battlements of Castle Dracul.

"No!" I screamed as I whirled around to face her again.

We had reached my room and the metal door slid to the side. I was in my room and she was standing in the doorway when I had spun around to scream at her. The headache subsided and was replaced by my rage. I could feel something well up inside me and ripple through my body. "For what you've done! What you've done to Sophie and Cherit, what you're letting happen to Sophie and me- for killing…Dante."

I rarely said his name. I didn't like to. It just reminded me that every time I'd say his name, he wouldn't be there.

"You can't hate me when you don't know the whole story." she said, her eyes reflected pain but I didn't care. I needed to explode and my powers were contained by one of Klaus's spells.

"I know enough." I snapped, words for me to throw at her just popped into my head and I spat them out, "I know that you lied to all of us! That you were supposed to kill him- first, get him to trust you and then take him out.

"I know that you were heartless enough to do it under an ambush and cold-hearted enough to hand us to Klaus for his experiments. And I know you're sick for allowing this to happen to two teenagers. You didn't even try to stop him."

"_He is my father_. What does your father mean to you, Lok?!" she fired, her eyes smoldering, her former statement said emphatically. I hesitated and tried to will my mind to think of an excuse- of a reason, but none came to mind.

Her tense posture relaxed and her fists unfurled so that her fingers stretched out. My father meant a lot to me and she knew it- Is that what Klaus meant to her?

"Do _we _mean _nothing_ to you?" I couldn't help but asking.

Her lips parted and she was about to answer when she clamped her jaw shut and grit her teeth. "If you did, you would have been free a _very_ long time ago."

I saw her point.

"By-" she started, about to close the metal door when it slipped out. I couldn't really contain my thoughts anymore. When it came to mind, I spat it out. Control was something I had lost a long time ago.

"You meant a lot to him, you know." I said loud enough for my voice to echo in the room.

She hesitated and turned to me, her eyes were hard to decipher. So many emotions made it almost impossible to separate, but the easiest to recognize was shock.

"What?" she asked as if she didn't hear me.

"You meant a lot to him." I reiterated and watched as those many emotions flashed through her eyes. I saw confusion mixed with shock and continued because I caught a glimpse of pain. "There was that time when he and I were alone on the train- you know the one to Dracul's castle. Sophie went to the corner of the train room to have a private conversation with LeBlanche and Santiago.

"He kept staring at the door where you disappeared and I told him to go talk to you, but he just leaned back and shook his head, saying that it wouldn't be a good idea." I stopped but Zhalia didn't say anything so I continued, "I knew something was wrong so I asked him. He said it was complicated so I told him to uncomplicated it and tell me. I'll skip a few details for you," _Because he was talking about Sophie and me and you don't need to know that._ I added mentally before I went on, "But when he finally was about to tell me, he stopped and said that it was serious. That he had feelings for you."

I watched as the color drained from her face and her eyes dulled that it was close to lifeless. "That's it, Lok." she said as she turned around and started to head for the door. She had walked in sometime because I dropped my voice- intentionally. I wanted her to get closer so that she could hear and I could see her face clearly.

"He said he thought he was falling in love with you!" I shouted after her, making her stop frozen in her steps. I couldn't help but smirking knowing the conflict growing within her. If she didn't care, she would have stayed to hear the whole story and then throw it back in my face and laugh. But she cared because she didn't want to hear it.

"I took it seriously and told him to go tell you because he might not get another chance to be alone with you. He was hesitant at first- kinda nervous." I said as I remembered that time perfectly. It had been, after all, the last time I had spent time with him before his final mission began.

"Shut up." she said her face half turned so that I saw a side profile of her. I could heard a tone in her voice that was so foreign that I categorized it as guilt.

"I reminded him that he's done more life-threatening things in the past month and that telling you a simple truth wasn't going to be so hard. I was sure you felt the same, but I didn't tell him that. Eventually, he decided to go and talk to you. To tell you."

"Shut up." she cut in and her hand flew up to massage her temple.

"Tell you that he cared about you more than he should for a friend." I knew and, at the same time, I didn't know what I was doing. I knew that it was agitating her, but I didn't know that I was loosening her grip on her control. I just kept going knowing that this wasn't going to end good for me. Yet somehow, I had to get out the truth…the simple truth that I was dragging out- "Tell you that he was falling in love with you."

"Shut up!!" she screamed as she turned around to face me, fury was in her eyes but it didn't intimidate me.

"He loved you, Zhalia!" I screamed at her. "Dante loved you, and I bet you stared him in the eyes and killed him. Bet you didn't even see it then. He would have never hurt you- even if you were going to kill him. He would have never hurt you. Because… He fell in love with you."

"_SHUT UP!!!!_" her voice was shrill and I didn't hear a single word uttered than that.

And that was the strange part, because soon I was flying in the air having been hit by an invisible force. I crashed into the corner of the room and landed with a thud on the stone floor. As my head pounded, I thought I was hit with a Force Blast, but I had never heard another word.

Through the pain, I managed to look up at her and see that horror had crossed her face. She looked like she was about to say something, but, instead, she just turned around and left. The metal door hissed to a close behind her. I stared at the door for a moment thinking that she'd come back, but she didn't. After a few minutes, I pushed myself off the floor though my body screamed in protest. I dragged myself to bed feeling the twisted ankle the fall had given me and tasting my own salty blood that reached my taste buds because my lip had split.

I grabbed an old shirt that rested on the table and pressed it against my lower lip. I ignored the slight stinging and just stared up at the ceiling as I crashed down onto the soft mattress with a soft pillow. The accommodations that came with being a lab rat were better than that cell, but I'd rather have that cell with Sophie than a room to myself.

My mind was still replaying the last moments of our one-sided conversation as the minutes ticked by and I watched the clock over the top of the doorway crawl around the face of the clock. Many of those words I had said, I didn't even mean to let slip out. Now, that I recalled it, regret crept into my consciousness and guilt made me feel no better than the Suits that Zhalia commanded.

_I bet you stared him in the eyes and killed him._ That had been my rage talking, not me and my sense. But I think that made her snap because that, coupled with the other few things I said after, resulted in me being blown halfway across the room by a spell that hadn't even been whispered or even uttered.

It suddenly dawned on me what I read in her eyes and heard in her voice. Guilt. Pain. But most of all, the one thing that was making her nice to all of us- be as nice as she could to me and probably to Sophie and Cherit- because it had been her all along that had persuaded Rassimov to let Cherit go and remain to comfort Sophie. That one thing that was doing all this was regret.

_You can't hate me when you don't know the whole story._ She had said moments ago.

I wondered if part of that story contained a confession. A confession about her feelings, because I knew that there had been something between the two of them- her and Dante. Whatever reflected in him had been reflected with her. I had been watching from the starboard bow that day in Greece when Dante had walked up to Zhalia and said that he trusted her, watched as he looked back and commended her with her work when we were in Ireland, and I saw the way the two acted when we were on break and hanging out at his house. That picture Montehue took was enough proof to back any accusation of emotions for either party.

It dawned on me and I knew at that moment why she exploded- but I was questioning it, because it didn't fit with what happened… with his death. If she truly felt the same way, she wouldn't have killed him.

"You have a heart, Zhalia." I said, though I was speaking to no one, "You _had_ a heart. What happened?"

The clock had worked around a full hour by the time my lip stopped bleeding and when my ankle felt better. I used Everfight to heal it, but my powers had been so contained that I knew I only had an hour or so before the pain returned. I limped over to the table and placed my shirt there along with a pile of other shirts. I looked into the mirror for a moment and saw that my blond hair was mussed, my blue eyes looked so blue it was depressing, and I looked pale- but I think that was from all the rigorous experiments and blood drawing Klaus had done for the past two weeks. Though I had gained a couple pounds of muscle from the training fields and had gained some mastery of spells when put under virtual conditions- I still looked like the same sixteen year old that came here. I didn't know if that was good or bad.

Suddenly, the lights flickered overhead. I ignored it, but when it flickered again I couldn't, and I annoyingly shot a Bolt Flare at it to replace the light that was flickering. There was a sudden knock on my door that took me aback.

_Suits don't knock._ I thought as I approached the door warily. _And any others would have opened the door._

The knocking didn't abate, and as I approached it I realized that whoever was knocking had a heavy hand.

"Lok?!" came a hoarse voice.

I pressed myself against the door. The voice was a godsend.

"Montehue?!" I yelled as I slammed my palm against the door.

"Yea', it's me, boy. Now, how do I get this blasted thing open?!" he asked, his voice cutting through the steel.

"The red button to your right." I said as the metal door slid open to reveal the Foundation agent. I wrapped my arms around him- well as far as I could around him- in relief and found that he wasn't a mirage or a hallucination but a real being. "Thank God, you're here!"

Suddenly, I backed away, half wary and half wondering. "Wait, what're you doing here? Did you hear about what happened at Transylvania? Is there anyone else here?"

"We have five minutes before that tranquilizing gas wears off and I doubt Rassimov will be affected by it much. So we'll have two minutes before he wakes up." he said as he headed off down the hallway.

"Wait!" I cried after him as I matched his long running strides. "How did you find me?"

"You'll be amazed at what we can do now." he said as he turned left.

He had said we and that word was enough for me to relax. It meant that there were others. Others that were probably helping him with this escape- or this break and release.

"How do you know your way around this place?" I asked as he took the right turn that led to the elevator which was our exit out of here.

"Now's not the time for twenty questions." Montehue answered me as we headed down the hallway that branched off towards the prisoner holding cells.

"Wait." I said as I ran off down the right hall.

No one and nothing, but Sophie and Cherit were on my mind, and the thought of them was what drove me to run like Flash down the white hallway.

"Lok!" Montehue cried as he ran after me. "Lok, boy! There are others getting Sophie and the prisoners out."

"_I _have to see her!" I argued as I ran into the hallway. I took a right and ran down the stairs and saw Scarlet opening the prison doors one by one on the left while…Sophie was doing the same on the right.

I made my way through the rushing crowd of escaping Huntik prisoners and watched as she freed the last of them, Cherit hanging on her shoulders looking to see that every room was cleared. "Sophie."

I had barely said her name above a whisper, but she had heard me. She turned just as Cherit launched in a beeline towards me and grabbed me into a tight embrace, his arms were wrapped around my neck and his furry face rubbed against my cheek.

"Lok, my boy!" the Titan cried, "You're safe!" I winced when his tail hit me across the shoulders. I had been struck by an Augurfrost there when a Suit thought to repay me for beating him in the training fields. "But hurt."

"No thanks to Zhalia, Klaus, and Rassimov." I told him as he unwrapped his arms and flew off somewhere behind me. With Cherit gone, I locked my eyes on Sophie.

I forgot how to breathe for a moment. She approached me slowly and when she was close enough I pulled her against me in a tight embrace and buried my face in her neck.

"Oh, God." I whispered against her skin. "Are you alright?"

We broke apart so that we could examine each other, but I didn't see any harm- only a red mark where Klaus had taken samples of her blood.

"I am now." she replied with the same low inaudible voice her fingers brushing against me cheek. I held her close against me, my hand on the small of her back as my other hand brushed away the light honey brown hair that stuck to her face. I leaned in closer to her, slowly…and just as I was about to kiss her we both heard someone yell.

"Lok! Sophie!" It was Tersely. "C'mon! Montehue and Scarlet are running ahead!"

I grumbled under my breath something about his rotten timing as we followed him up the stairs and down the hallway heading towards the exit. I held Sophie's hand in mine as hallways passed us in a blur.

_Lok-_ There was familiar voice ringing all around me, but Sophie or Tersely hadn't stopped or showed any sign of hearing anything. It then dawned on me that I must have been hearing it in my mind.

Suddenly, I stopped feeling something tugging behind me and compelling me to look behind me.

_Lok._

I pulled Sophie back and she looked at me, alarmed.

"What?" she asked me thinking that something was wrong with me, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I don't-" I started to answer as I ignored Tersely running ahead. I slowly turned around. Sophie followed the gesutre and soon we were both staring down the hallway.

A silhouette was carved into the light. The light was too bright for me to look onto the person's features but from the cut out it was someone, a man carrying a smaller figure- a woman.

"Lok. Sophie." the shadow said, his voice calm and smooth. It was all he needed to say for us to know who he was.

"Lok! Sophie! Come-" Tersely started grabbing Sophie and my attention. I watched as his eyes locked on the shadowy figure, but I think from his vantage point the saw the shadow clearly.

"Go on, Tersely." the man said, "We'll be fine."

Sophie and I turned to him, and I found that I couldn't reach my words. None came and I just went on staring at him.

He stepped to the side to allow for the light to reveal his features knowing that we couldn't see him clearly. When he did, the light from the hall spilled onto his face and we saw him. There were four parallel scars across his left cheek. His brow above his right eye was dissected by another razor thin scar. However, other than that, he remained the same. His russet brown hair, light tanned skin, even his clothes- his black, long sleeved shirt that had a V revealing a gray shirt underneath it, khaki colored pants, combat boots, and signature tan trench coat were the same. His amber eyes locked onto me then shifted to Sophie. A kind, familiar smile was on his face.

I could only imagine the looks on our faces.

"We'll have a little reunion later, but we've got to get out of here." he said, blatantly stating the obvious.

I looked down to see that in his arms was an unconscious Zhalia. I was about to protest about bringing her when he cut into my thoughts as if he was reading mine.

"Grab onto my shoulders." he ordered us as we heard commotion down the hallway.

Without any hesitation, Sophie and I grabbed onto his shoulder. Sophie his left and I to his right. Shadows were cast against the hallway floor.

"Omniport." he said.

The ground disappeared from beneath my feet and I was flying in the air. My grip on his shoulder was lost and I was swirling around in a vortex of wind. I was deafened by the roar of the wind that was in my ears and I couldn't see anything but white and blue. The raging gales threatened to tear my skin, but before that happened I landed on the grass, on my back, pain shooting up my spine. I groaned.

Suddenly, I heard a cry above me and the vortex opened again and Sophie landed across my stomach. She groaned in pain and I shot up into a sitting position to help her up.

"You okay?" I asked her as I helped her to sit up.

She smiled as I took her hand and didn't let go. "That was fun." she said.

"Yeah, next time we should hang on though." I added. She laughed when-

"Here, let me help you up." I heard Scarlet's Irish accent break above me and soon Sophie was being lifted and I followed her up.

"You gave us a scare back there when you weren't behind Tersely." Scarlet said with a grin as she brushed me off but I looked past her to where Montehue was having an argument with him.

"Are you crazy?! You're endangering us!" he yelled as he gestured down to Zhalia. "You're mad."

"That's what you said when I proposed we attack this place." came the reply with a smile as he adjusted his arms under Zhalia and shifted her so that her head was resting on her chest and not lolling back as if she were dead.

"Dante Vale, you're one crazy sonofabitch." said someone and I looked over to see a Hispanic man in his mid twenties only older than Zhalia by a couple of years leaning against a tree.

I glanced around seeing that we were in the forest right outside of the city.

"Thanks for the compliment, Kev." was the reply.

"Dante?" I asked thinking that I would wake up and find that this was all a dream.

He turned to me flashing a greeting smile at me.

"Hello, Lok." he said and looked over my shoulder. "Hello, Sophie. It's nice to see you guys again."

"Dante, you're alive?" Sophie asked incredulously as she pinched his arm. He winced a little and Montehue chuckled.

"I think you're supposed to pinch yourself." Tersely said.

"No, I know I'm not dreaming." she replied, "But I needed to know if he was real."

"Yeah, Sophie. I'm alive and I'm real." he answered.

"Wait!" I shouted, "What happened?! How are you alive?!"

"That's what we all want to know." Montehue said staring at Dante with dark blue eyes.

"It's like you guys are disappointed." he said with a laugh and met our inquiring gazes, "Look, I'll explain it tomorrow when we meet in New York. Right now, I've got my team to worry about.

"She's not part of your team." Kev, which I guessed was short was short for Kevin, said as he walked up. "She was with the Organization."

"I said, I'd save my team." Dante replied, "She's a part of that."

Sophie, Tersely, Scarlet, Montehue, the guy Dante called Kev, and I exchanged glances before we turned to him and all yelled, "But Zhalia killed you!"

"No, she didn't." he said as he looked down at her. She looked calm and innocent in his arms. "She saved me."


	5. Chapter 4: Tell Me

**_I'm really enjoying writing this story, it's fun. Sorry this chap is soo short and sorry that this update took so long, but I'm enjoying the last days of summer vacay. Anyways, enjoy this and review!_**

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Chapter Five: Tell Me

_Zhalia_

When I blasted Lok into the air with a Force Blast I never called on, I began to panic and I left the room as soon as I could. I ran away from the hallway as if the atmosphere of the dormitory was suffocating. I ran into the elevator pressing the button labeled "Ground". The door crawled into a close and I still couldn't breathe.

_Cold-hearted. Heartless. Sick. _Lok's words rang in my head and kept haunting me even as I felt the elevator begin its ascending climb. _You meant a lot to him. He loved you, Zhalia! Dante loved you, and I bet you stared him in the eyes and killed him._

I couldn't help it. I looked at the camera in the elevator and whispered, "Dark Fog."

A thick, black fog covered the camera lens leaving security blind to my actions. I turned around and pressed a red button at the bottom corner of the elevator stopping it completely, halfway through its journey. I didn't kill him, but everyone believed I did. Dante was listed as MIA and Sophie and Lok were still held by the Organization- it only led to the logical conclusion that Dante was dead because he wouldn't have left Sophie and Lok in the grip of the Organization and wouldn't have allowed for the Foundation to fall so far that it was now hanging by a thread.

I screamed as I slammed my fists on the metallic walls of the elevator.

_Loved me? _My thoughts whirled as I thought back to our missions and our time together.

"_Zhalia, there's been…something I've been meaning to tell you."_ he had said to me on the train when we were at the end of the very last car.

I took a breath as I leaned back against the wall opposite from the door. Slowly, I slumped to the floor and rested my head on my knees. Something was tearing up within me- an emotion Klaus and Rassimov had warned me about…Regret.

But suddenly I remembered where my loyalties lied. Klaus was my father and Rassimov was the most powerful Seeker after the Professor, who would soon pass into the next world. I owed no one else but them for where I was and who I was. I was a strong albeit dark Seeker with a successful three months undercover assignment under my belt. I intimidated people that were once my peers, and now I had more power than more than ninety percent of the Organization. I had a life because of them. And if I ever betrayed them, I'd be nothing but a lie if I tried to be something else… like a noble Foundation Seeker.

I straightened as I started the elevator but reversed its path sending it back towards the lab. I called off the dark fog spell from the camera and cleared my head of my conflicting feelings. However, reading and studying spells always distracted me.

As soon as the doors opened, I headed towards the library.

There I had been attracted to a certain shelf of books, one I had never taken interest in my previous trips here. I took a black leather tome from the middle of a collection and lay the spine down on the table. It had been bookmarked to a certain place and I stared at the page. It was all about the Casterwill and their powers.

_The power of Casterwill is that of a guardian. A descendant of Casterwill is sworn to protect his honorable name and the innocents in the world from the evil that threatens them. However, they never fight alone. There is always a member of a magical family chosen to help aid each generation of the Casterwills. Each generation a family member is chosen to protect a Casterwill. It is destiny that binds the two of them- never coincidence. They who are chosen are gifted with a power ancient as the first Seekers._

It was slightly interesting, but somehow I couldn't place why I was suddenly so interested and why I should be. I flipped more pages until I stopped at one entitled: _Thoughtspeaker._

_Seekers of incredible power brought about by series of experimentation in the first generation of Seekers. Thoughtspeakers need only to think of a spell to summon it into the field and use it in battle. They also, if properly trained to harness their full ability, can contact a Titan through the mental bond though it is not their own._

Thoughtspeaker? It sounded like me or what I had done, but it was impossible because I was an orphan, I never knew my family. _So, it's possible you could be a Thoughtspeaker,_ my mind deduced.

I looked through the books as the next half hour passed by and eventually when I was bored I shut the tome and put it back on a shelf.

_What a waste of time._ I thought as I walked out of the library and towards the agent dormitories. Mine was the only one decorated, everyone else didn't bother because they lived elsewhere. They only stayed here when a mission required it of them.

I inserted my card into the slot above the doorknob and when I heard a click I opened it and tossed the card onto the desk, but I didn't hear it clatter. I walked further into the room, but made the mistake of passing the door, which closed on its own and not by me or any automatic programming. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the dark and when it did I saw a silhouette looking over the desk.

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked as I summoned a Bolt Flare to my fingers instinctively.

The light filled the room and illuminated it brighter than the cheap fluorescents that were installed into the ceiling could ever do. It only needed a glimpse of the tan trench coat and russet hair to make my heart stop. I gasped as I backed up against the door and felt cool metal underneath my skin, the Bolt Flare hung at the ceiling and I couldn't even call it off, my head wasn't clear again.

"Hello, Zhalia." he said simply as closed whatever he was looking at. I recognized it as my diary, the blue gilded book that I carried everywhere.

"Dante." I whispered, his name barely escaping me.

"If you didn't want me to come back you should have killed me." he told me as he approached ever so slowly. I wished that I could sink into the metal or fade away, anything to get away from that amber gaze and to escape close proximity to him.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" I asked, half afraid of the answer he would give me. "Kill me?"

"I keep my promises." he whispered as he only stood a couple of feet away from me. I could feel his hot breath against my skin. My breath caught.

"What does that mean?" I said.

I saw a smirk on his face as he closed the space between our bodies. I felt hot all of a sudden. I had to admit, being this close to the enemy was enthralling and…exhilarating.

"It means," he whispered, a growl in his voice, "that I keep my promises."

He whispered something unintelligible before he surprised me. His lips met mine in a passionate kiss. Instinctively, I threaded my fingers through his hair which felt soft between my fingers. He dominated the kiss- and I felt all of a sudden weak. I whimpered as my knees gave way. When we broke apart I felt broken, shattered, and most of all…weak.

"Dante." I said weakly, at the moment hating him because I knew that it was him- that it was he that was doing this to me…draining me.

"Forgive me." he whispered as my vision blurred and the Bolt Flare that I had shot up faded along with my consciousness.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_It was then that I realized that I had been half-lying on the table wearing nothing but the ocean colored bikini and he was wearing nothing but jeans. I felt embarrassed for some reason, but when his eyes met mine it was wiped from my mind and all I wanted to do was-_

_I inched closer to him. It was my lips that met his and for a second his mouth was set- unyielding and adamant as if he didn't want to kiss. But then- he started to kiss me back. The hand that held the amulet made its way up his arm until it rested at his nape and tangled with his hair. My other hand felt the contours of his back. His mouth moved from mine to trace my jawline and eventually reached my neck. I felt his tongue against my neck._

"_Oh, God!" I cried out as my hands became claws, one made marks against his back the other clutching his hair._

_My legs wrapped around him and I allowed him to push me down against the table, the cold wood cooling me down. He pushed himself up off the table to gaze down at me._

"_Shouldn't we start?" I asked him._

"_Start what exactly?" he said as he cleared his throat._

"_Whatever you want." I replied as I pressed myself against him._

_He was about to lean in when all of a sudden I heard someone slam their fist against the door._

"_Dante! Zhalia!" came a yell. It was Montehue._

_Dante immediately straightened and helped me up-_

"_Zhalia! Zhalia!" the voice belonged to neither Dante or Montehue. "Zhalia!"_

My eyes opened slowly and it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the brightness of the room.

"Zhalia?" came a scratchy voice that I immediately recognized as belonging to Cherit.

It took a moment but my eyesight cleared and I saw the white Titan flying next to me. I groaned in reply as I put my wrist to my forehead and felt something ice cold against my forehead. Alarmed, I looked to my wrist to see a manacle with a chain attached to it. I followed it to see that it was in the wall…no way to escape.

"Damn it." I muttered as I leaned back into the pillows. It was just then that I realized I was lying in a bed. Cherit was eyeing me with a waiting look. "Cherit, why the hell am I in a bed?"

"Well, after you wouldn't wake up from the sleep spell Scarlet cast, Dante thought it would be better to put you to bed." Cherit answered.

_Figures._ I thought as I gestured towards the manacles and chain.

"Safety precaution." came the answer from a deeper voice. "Cherit, will you please?"

"Aye, I'll leave you two alone." Cherit answered as he flew past and out of the room.

I watched Cherit, and the only chance to save this conversation from being awkward, fly out the bedroom door. I sighed and just relaxed as Dante entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"What the hell did you do to me?" I asked.

"I kissed you." he replied simply. The tone in which he answered unnerved me, but I just narrowed my eyes at him.

"You made me lose consciousness." I said.

"You fainted." he replied with a wry grin.

I grit my teeth for a moment. He wasn't going to tell me.

"Zhalia, what was Klaus doing to Lok and Sophie?" he asked when he saw I wasn't going to continue our previous conversation.

"Experimenting." I answered, hoping to use the same tactic he was using on me on him.

"Experimenting with their blood, their powers, or their Titans?"

"Wouldn't you like to know. Why don't you ask them?"

"I will, but I want to hear from you first. Did Rassimov or Klaus say anything about the results? What they were going to do?"

"So, an interrogation?" I asked curtly, "You won't get anything out of me."

"I know." he replied with a resigned sigh, his voice, however, remained calm, "You're stubborn."

He seemed to smile at his own inside joke as he removed his trench coat, threw it over a seat and sat at the edge of the bed. I inched as far away as I could as possible and he didn't seem to notice. All he did was look at nothing in particular- I knew this meant he was running over memories.

"Why the hell am I here, Dante?!" I finally snapped.

He looked at me calmly. "'I told you before."

"Yeah, yeah. You keep your promises. What does that mean?!" I asked- more like shouted, "When have you ever made a promise that you'd kidnap me?"

He actually laughed at that. "You say kidnap, I say capture."

I rolled my eyes. "They will come for me, Dante."

"No doubt about it."

"They'll kill you."

"Doubt that."

"What?" I asked as I sat up and kicked off the blanket that was making me hot.

"You've been to Sophie's manor." he said as he got off the bed and walked to the window.

I hesitated before I answered. What did Sophie's house have to do with anything?

"There were things missing." he stated, as if reading my mind.

"Santiago and LeBlanche took those books. Don't try to tell me otherwise." I said thinking he'd try to mess with the facts and screw up my thoughts, "I know you'd be lying."

"How?" he asked, "You weren't there, and you didn't know that there were wards put up on the shelves."

"What?"

"Only those of higher position than a Casterwill can touch those books." he answered, "Currently, I am the team leader- I'm in a higher position than Sophie is. Santiago and LeBlanche couldn't take out those books, the wards would have prevented it."

"You took them out?!" It sounded more like an accusation than a question. _Did Rassimov know that there were wards and that Santiago and LeBlanche couldn't take it out?_ The question rang in my mind for a moment before it faded away.

He threw a smug smile in my direction. "Anything of importance that LeBlanche and Santiago couldn't take, I took out. Then I went to war-"

"You were the one that warned all the Huntik operatives." I gasped. "That's why Europe fell to the Organization so fast. You took out all the opposition."

"I had to. The Organization already had a hold of most governments and countries than the Foundation could count. I warned Metz and was able to get him and the Council leaders out of Europe. Then, I recruited others and got them out-"

"And wiped those that wanted to retire." I finished.

He nodded.

"But that's idiotic." I said and saw him throw a curious glance in my direction. I continued, "Well, because guess what- Europe has more power than the US has, no matter what happens. We've united the powers of the Organization in Europe. The Foundation in one country isn't much opposition."

"There are more spies in your ranks." he replied as he walked up to me. "More spies than you and Rassimov know of. Rassimov may lead the Organization but-"

"The Professor does." I interrupted, "Rassimov is standing in."

He laughed again, "The Professor, Zhalia, can't be leading. The last mission he was on was his last."

"What?"

"Did you ever see him come back?' he asked.

Now that I think about it, I was starting to think that Dante was right. I hadn't seen the Professor return. I looked at Dante, waiting for an answer.

"The Professor was killed on the mission." Dante replied and he sounded like he was stating it like it was a matter of fact. "Rassimov wants the takeover to be subtle, but the Foundation already knows."

"And let me guess, you're now leading the Foundation since Metz is dying?" I jibed- unintentionally.

I saw his face harden, his jaw clamped shut and his brows drew together. But it didn't intimidate me.

"Yes." he answered. I could sense some reluctance in his voice. He turned to me with smoldering eyes, "He's dying, Zhalia, and-"

He stopped and I stared at him hard. I was not going to let him intimidate me and I sure as hell wasn't going to break under his stare, no matter how-

"But you don't really care." he answered as he made his way out. I saw Cherit at the door waving at him. "I've got to go check on Lok and Sophie."

"You care about me, don't you?" I asked as he was at the doorway. I don't know why I said it at that time, all I know was that I needed to hear him say it. He stopped but he didn't turn back. "Lok, told me- about your conversation with him on the train."

"Those feelings have changed, Zhalia. I thought that would be obvious." he answered as he disappeared, closing the door behind him, and leaving me alone.

Of course they had changed, I had nearly killed him. I gave a sigh as I leaned my head back against the headboard. Suddenly, I realized that there was still a familiar weight around my neck. I looked down to see that there were still two amulets strung around my neck. Kilthane and…Caliban. I looked back up at the door, where he had left. Why the hell did he leave his Titan with me? All I knew was that he was being evasive on topics concerning Titans and spells, and he wasn't going to tell me.

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**_Please review!! I'm already writing the next chap and it'll be up in a couple of days._**

**_-Phoenix_**


	6. Chapter 5: Sacrifice

**_Sorry, but I was really busy and school's started, so it's gonna be a while before I update. Maybe a week._**

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Chapter Five: Sacrifice

_Sophie_

I thumbed through the leather book that lay open on the table when I woke up. I wasn't surprised to find myself on a couch or that Lok was on the one opposite of me, but I was surprised to see that when I looked out the window I could see nothing but forest. I decided to ask Dante about it later.

I was shocked to see him alive and well, almost as shocked as Lok was. I remembered those first weeks when Lok would tell me, "Don't worry, Dante's alive and he's out there. Just wait, we'll be out of here soon." Over the next two weeks, I watched as that hope faded and I almost cried when it was broken. When Rassimov came to separate the two of us, I saw that that hope had dissipated.

_If he was alive this whole time, why did it take so long? _the question came to mind immediately as I the book finally came into focus. I decided to look through it and leave that question for later.

I was only reading for ten minutes before Lok groaned and stirred. I left the book to sit beside him and brush the hair that stuck to his forehead. He was sweating- from a nightmare? Suddenly, with a jolted, he bolted upright and gasped. I leaned back to avoid a collision of our heads and stared at him.

"Lok?" I asked, trying to hide the panic that registered.

"Soph." he whispered as his blue eyes turned to me with an alarmed look in his gaze.

"Lok, what happened?" I couldn't help but inquire as he shook his head.

"Nothing." he whispered as he forced a smile to his face, trying to -obviously- assure me that it was alright.

I just nodded as I returned to my seat and continued to read. I saw spells that I was familiar with and spells that I hadn't bothered to read because I saw no use for them. I saw Honor Guard and Nimblefire amongst the spells in the book and then there were some that I never thought I'd ever use such as Aurafire and Verastrength.

"Find something cool?" Lok asked as he took a seat next to me.

I glanced up at him before turning the page to see that I had reached the weapons section. The Spear of Athena and the Bow of Diana both weapons lost to history but said to contain extraordinary power. I came across the sword Excalibur and the club of Hercules, said to grant the user divine strength.

"A lot." I answered when we both heard footsteps coming down the stairs. We looked up to see Cherit fly down in front of whoever was coming.

"Hello, you two, it's nice to you both awake." Cherit said as he settled on the arm of the couch that Lok had been sitting on.

"Nice to see you, too, Cherit." Lok said as we both turned to see Dante come down. He was missing his trench coat, as usual when we were indoors, but somehow he seemed complete without it.

I stared at him. My eyes swept over the scar on his right eyebrow and the four parallel scratches across his left cheek. Everything else remained the same, but then again it was only his appearance on the outside- I was sure that he was changed on the inside and most of me didn't want to know how much had changed.

"Hi, Dante." I said first to alleviate the awkwardness that had descended on us. Whenever he came into the room, it became more tense. I turned to see that Lok was still in his phase of disbelief.

"Hi." he said simply as he warily walked forward. He wasn't wary of us, but his nervousness about what we would ask was obvious to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, trying to act as if nothing had happened and the incident over a month ago had never happened. But it did and no matter how much he didn't want it to be- it had happened. We had been exposed to cruelty and helplessness- something I knew he had tried to prevent.

"_Are we alright_?" Lok repeated emphatically, but the tone was tinged with sarcasm and rage.

"Lok-" I started about to stop him but I saw the fire in his eyes.

"We spent a whole month in Klaus and Rassimov's grip and you weren't there. You had so much time and nothing- _Nothing _happened!" Lok shouted. I wanted to stop him because his anger was misdirected- I glanced over at Dante who looked as calm as could be though I recognized regret and pain flash for a brief moment. "What the hell were you doing?! Because Sophie was stuck in a cell. I was stuck as an experiment and the Foundation was crumbling and you were God knows where!"

"Lok!" Dante yelled, his voice raised in a yell that took me aback and made Lok tense up. We had never heard him aim any anger at us, but as I looked into his eyes I didn't see any anger. I saw regret and guilt. "I was… busy. Helping the Foundation relocate to the US. I had to get the Council members here and I needed to get priority people out- scouring the street to either recruit Foundation agents or wipe them if they wanted to retire. I had to save the Foundation first and Metz was the first one to remind me of that."

I pulled Lok into his seat because halfway through his yelling he had stood as if about to engage Dante in a fight- a fight which Dante would win.

"I wanted to-" Dante continued as he met our eyes pleadingly, "I _wanted _to come after you four first, but I couldn't and then they started to attack Montehue and Ireland with Scarlet. I needed to act fast. I was able to get everyone to the US. It had taken longer than I wanted to- a whole month. And it was hard because a lot of people believed I was dead- those that had believed I was MIA were easier to convince. Once I had Montehue, Scarlet, and Kevin with me I went after you."

I understood. Dante put the Foundation first because if he saved us that Foundation would have fallen with priority agents in capture. He was doing what was best for everyone though it meant Lok and me having to suffer for a bit longer. I turned to Lok and searched his facial expression for some sort of understanding.

"But why did you save Zhalia?" Lok asked after he took a few moments of silence. His tone of voice had calmed.

Dante sighed as he took a seat on the couch. "Because I made her a promise once. A promise to my whole team- that I'd save you all no matter what. Then she-"

He stopped and looked beyond us to the view of the woods beyond us. I had a feeling that it was private but I needed- wanted- to understand what made him go back.

"She?" Lok and I asked, prompting him to continue.

"What happened, Dante?" Cherit asked as he flew to perch on the man's shoulder.

"She asked me if I would save her if she ever betrayed me." he said and gave a light laugh, "I should have seen it coming, her betrayal- and I did, a little- I began to suspect something but I didn't say anything. Instead, I promised her that no matter what I'd do everything I could to save her."

"But you're putting us in danger." I protested and realized that I had said the wrong thing. If Dante thought something would take away more than help them, then he wouldn't take on the challenge.

"I promised to save my team no matter what and I promised that I'd do anything to save her-" he started, "That includes saving her from herself."

Lok and I exchanged glances. We wouldn't push the topic any further. I didn't want to get into this personal business because I knew what everyone else knew- Dante had feelings for Zhalia. Though it must have changed-

Dante stood as Cherit flew to Lok. He walked over to a bookshelf filled with…books that I recognized from my library. He turned to me, "Santiago and LeBlanche were able to get out and I was able to salvage a couple of important things. Like bank account numbers and these books." The former statement he said with a smile that made Lok chuckle and me laugh. But that laugh faded when I saw the dark purple tomes that were worn in the binding from use. I knew that LeBlanche and Santiago couldn't have taken the books but I didn't want Zhalia to know that.

I stood as I walked over to Dante. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Dante, what have you done?" I asked him seriously and worried for him.

He turned to me with a curious gaze and I gestured towards the dark purple tomes which belonged to the Nullifiers once. Zhalia had told me that they were missing.

"Those are dark spell books." I said, "Have you read them?"

"I did what I had to do." he whispered as my grip on his shoulder tightened and I became frantic.

"Do you know what you've done?!" I cried when he grabbed my wrist with a firm grip. His eyes were suddenly- murderous and dark…evil. Then, his raging expression faded into a look of shock and surprise.

"Yeah, I know." he whispered as he let go of my wrist and turned to the door. Before Lok and I could stop him he was gone and we both saw him get on a motorcycle and drive away.

My eyes followed him until he disappeared. I looked back to Lok, who looked at me with a worried expression.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked as Cherit flew away to rest on the couch.

I turned around and grabbed the dark tomes from the shelf and flung them to the floor. Frustrated, I screamed. Lok was scared to come close to me and when I knelt down and just bowed my head, he started to approach me.

"Sophie?" Cherit asked as he flew in front of me, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cherit." I replied as I stared at the pages that the books had opened to when I threw them down to the ground.

Tears came to my eyes as I looked from page to page to see that marks adorned some that were never opened in centuries, but I blinked them away and focused on the books in front of me.

"Soph, what's wrong?" Lok asked as he knelt beside me and took my shoulders.

I sniffled before I turned to him.

"Oh, Sophie, what's wrong?" Lok asked. I sensed the need in his voice- the need that was driving him. He was trying to help me, has been the whole time even though it was at his own risk.

"He knows what he's doing." I whispered dejectedly. When I saw that animalistic fury and hunger in his eyes, I knew that he knew what he had done and the cost.

"What?" Lok asked as he hugged me close to him, "What about Dante?"

I cleared my throat for a second before I started to explain. "You know about Casterwill's battle with the Nullifiers."

"Yeah, Casterwill fought and defeated him and he sealed Titans within amulets." Lok finished off. I nodded as I leaned on him. My eyes, however, roamed the books that lay open on the floor before I continued.

"Well, Casterwill also decided to keep the dark magic from the descendants of his opposition. He stole and burned most of the books, but kept those with the most powerful of dark spells." I gestured towards the books that lay in front of us.

"So, these are Nullifier books. What does Dante have anything to do with it?"

"Dark magic is…contagious." I said unsure about the latter word.

"Contagious?" Lok asked as he looked down at me. I felt small in his arms, but I cast the thought out of my head as the books crawled back into my mind.

"It spreads throughout the person's system…if they're not already committed to the Nullifier's cause." I explained.

"Which is?" Lok asked before he stopped me from answering, "Wait, don't tell me. World domination?"

I tried hard not to laugh because it was a serious situation, but I let a smile escape to my lips. I nodded.

"So, Dante's committed to Casterwill's cause. And?" Lok turned to me with his blue eyes.

"Dark magic being used by someone of the Light?" I asked sarcastically, but Lok didn't know what that meant and I supposed I should've guessed that would have been so. "It means that- that he'll…" I paused, I didn't understand how could I explain it. "He'll become evil."

Lok chuckled. "Uh-huh, yeah. Soph, maybe you should-"

"Lok!" I shouted as I sat upright, out of his arms, and stared at him, "Listen to me, dark magic infects people of the light. The more pure a person is, the more evil they become."

Lok stared at me and raised his eyebrow, "How many people know this?"

"LeBlanche, Santiago, Metz, Dante, and me!" I answered.

"There! Ha!" he said as he pointed at me, "Dante knew what would happen. He's not rash or stupid, he thinks things through."

"He was nearly killed by a woman he was falling in love with and lost us and nearly everyone else in the Foundation to the Organization!" I shouted, "I think Dante deserves to be a little rash!"

"But he wouldn't!" Lok replied, trying to calm me down. "He's been in life or death situations and he's thought rationally. He wouldn't risk his life for us-"

It was my turn to raise my eyebrow. _Piece it together, Lok._ I said mentally. I watched as his eyes widened.

"Oh, my God!" he cried. "He- he- Tell me that he didn't."

"Aye, he did." Cherit said a little somberly as he looked through the books. It was that statement that made us turn to the little flying Titan.

"What are you talking about, Cherit?" Lok asked, "Are you telling me that you knew?"

Cherit looked up with his bright eyes innocently at us. "He promised me not to tell you two, but you've figured it out already."

Lok stood up and took one of the books in his hands. "So, he used these books to gain dark magic to save us?! Am I getting that straight?! He's sacrificing his _soul_ to save everyone else?"

"Aye," Cherit confirmed as he looked towards the stairs, "I better go keep Zhalia company."

Lok and I nodded and watched as he flew off.

"Why would he do this?" Lok asked, and I heard his broken voice. "Why would he?"

"Because it's for the greater good?" I guessed with a shrug of my shoulders. "Lok, I'm not a mind-reader. I can't tell exactly _why_ Dante did this. All I can tell you is that he did and now we're all safe."

"Here's the question." Lok said as he turned to me and tossed the book away. "Could he have saved everyone without this?"

I didn't like to think about it. That in order to save everyone, someone would have to be pulled into evil. I wouldn't tell Lok that the dark spells would not only possess Dante's soul, it would destroy the man we loved and corrupt everything he stood for. He would become the most powerful wielder of dark magic since so far, he was the most powerful wielder of light. The thought of this made me shiver involuntarily.

"Are you cold?" Lok asked as he placed his warm hands on my upper arms. Somehow, this crisis disappeared from my mind and I found myself staring right into his blue eyes. He smiled as his hand moved up my arm, to my shoulder, and to cup my face.

I felt embarrassed that I was this close to him and turned away, but he tilted my face back to him.

"Sophie, I-" he whispered as he leaned closer to me, but I wouldn't allow him to say a word. I was too scared to hear him. I leaned close and brushed my lips against his to silence him. Before I knew it, he was kissing me. I didn't know what to do, I had never wanted to get close to anybody. All I wanted was to be a renowned Seeker and, once, I wanted Dante's affections. But now all I could think about was Lok and my want for him to be safe- to stay alive…I wanted him to always be with me. Just like for my friends, maybe even more, I knew that I would do everything to keep him with me.

Just then, an epiphany dawned on me and I understood everything. I wanted to tell Lok that I understood, but I couldn't, because it wouldn't mean anything to him. If I knew Lok, he would still be merciless to Zhalia. His attitude would be as unforgiving because he wouldn't let go of his grudge. As I sank into his arms and into an embrace with him, I looked over his shoulder and at the window. I heard the faint rev of the engine in the distance and saw Dante pull in. I mouthed the words, _I know the reason for your sacrifice._

* * *

**_When I thought of Sophie, I knew that her thoughts wouldn't be as clear because she was young and her opinions changed with each passing moment depending on what happens around her. So, sorry, if it was hard to read._**

**_Anyways, we haven't had a chapter with Dante, his insights, or his point of view, yet. Anyone, want to read it?_**

**_-Phoenix_**


	7. Chapter 6: Frozen With Fear

**_Well, the long awaited Dante POV chap. I enjoyed writing from his complicated POV. I don't even think I got his character out. I just really wanted to show that he's done things that are out of the ordinary for him and that he's actually feeling fear about life and that he's facing himself and his future, as well as trying to do his best to make sure that everyone he cares for lives. Dante's really complicated in my story and I hope I did my best to capture him._**

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Chapter Six: Frozen With Fear

_Dante_

Water.

Rain came drizzling down on me as I drove my bike to nowhere in particular. Alright, I'm lying to myself, I needed to go see Metz again.

I accelerated the bike and heard the engine give a louder roar as I sped down once quiet streets.

It had been almost three weeks since I had the last…hunger. Three weeks. Earlier that month, after Kevin had saved me up on Dracul's Fortress, the hunger hit me almost every hour and I had to isolate myself from people unless I wanted blood on my hands. Then a week later it only became days and three weeks ago the last of the hunger had evaporated only to return now.

_Why?_ My mind yelled.

And around Sophie and Lok, too. I had nearly snapped. Nearly lost control and unleashed the dark magic I had learned.

"_Dante, you open those books you are slowly killing yourself!"_ Metz had warned me. He pleaded with me, but I wouldn't listen. _"There is no evil in you, Dante, but that which is in all human beings. Those books will augment the dormant beast that lies in you and he will take over you, turning what you've become- a great agent who serves the greater good- and turn you into the most evil servant the Foundation will ever have to face."_

"_I'll be dead before that happens."_ I replied, thinking that I would go down taking the Organization with me before I myself fell, but now, as I felt dark intentions pollute my sense, I knew it wouldn't be long before my fall.

"_And if you don't die. Who will kill you? Do you your charges to or your friends?! They look up to. You are someone important to them- How would they bring themselves to kill you?!"_ Metz asked his voice raised, the first time in a long time. _"I would not even stop you."_

I had read the books anyways- opening my mind to what I knew Rassimov had knowledge of. A vortex of death. Black smothering mist. Creating a plague targeting key people. I knew it now and I've used some of these powers.

The familiar house where Metz was living came into view and I pulled into the driveway. Lady Ess opened the door and I nodded to her. She was silent and cold and closed the door behind me.

"Metz is waiting." she said quietly as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

I noticed she was depressed lately, but out of everyone she would be the one most terribly affected. The whole Foundation knew that the curse's expiration date on a person's life was only so long and that Metz had long passed the date of which the curse could be removed without resulting in his death. Now, Metz only had weeks to live before-

I cast the thought line out of my head as I ran up the stairs taking them two at a time.

Metz room was the last one at the end of the hall after an entertainment room which had been turned into a meeting room. The door was open and as son as I entered, I was met with slate gray eyes that were dulling with time.

"Metz-" I started as I took a step forward.

His all knowing eyes looked dejected and disappointed. "Dante, it's happening already. You are falling."

I looked out the window to see that there was a coming storm. The clouds were dark and foreboding, almost warning me of something else. But I ignored it and nodded. The scars on my face, one from my battle with the Professor, the other a souvenir from Zhalia both stung as if they were opened and unhealed, but I was used to the pain. There was a dull pain in my chest and I massaged it with my right hand. The gesture didn't go unmissed by Metz.

"How long has the pain gone on?" he asked.

"The past week." I answered as I walked over to the window.

"And the hunger?"

"I almost snapped on Sophie." I answered and watched as his eyes widened.

"Dante, you-" Metz started when I threw him a glare.

"I know what's going to happen." I snapped, "After I get the group together, I'm making a plan to storm the Prague castle. I'll see what I can do about the Blood Spiral and-"

"_Dante!_" Metz yelled and caught my attention. I turned, shocked to the elder Seeker. I waited for him to continue which he did, "My time is drawing to a close. I have but days now."

"What?" I asked as I approached his bedside and knelt by him, "I can use-"

"You think I am so selfish as to allow my charge to immerse himself deeper into the Nullifier's path on my behalf?" Metz asked, almost affronted by my offer. I tried hard not to defend myself. "Dante, Casterwill's strength, his magic and knowledge that he passed on to the Huntik Foundation, is allowing me to know of when such disturbances in the scales between the Nullifiers and the Seekers of Light occur.

"Your turning into one of the most powerful Nullifiers this world has ever seen is tipping the scales at such a rate that the Dark will surely win if you are not…" Metz paused, but I understood and I finished the sentence for him.

"If I'm not dead before I turn into one of them." I whispered as Metz placed his hand over mine.

"There is always a way." Metz told me. "Now, I've heard some disturbing news that you rescued Miss Moon when you stormed the lab in Vienna. May I inquire as to why you saved her?"

"I promised her I would." I answered, all of a sudden getting uncomfortable with the change of topic. I found it a little unnerving how Metz could change topics as if the others, my falling, his imminent death, and the possible future were no big incidents. But it was Metz and I had learned as a boy to get used to such changes in a conversation with him.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with your feelings for her, would it?" Metz asked with a wry grin on his weathered face.

I smiled as I shook my head, "Definitely not. My feelings for her have changed. She may have spared me on the fortress roof, but she left me for dead."

"Yet, you feel the urge to protect her now more than ever?"

I sighed, my shoulders dropping. "I-"

Suddenly, my cell phone rang and I picked up.

"Vale." I said.

"Dante?!" Kevin asked on the other side. "Listen, we need to summon a meeting at HQ. The whole team. Scouts have reported that former Seekers are being abducted and are turning up all over Europe without any memories. Someone's after the Foundation and they're going-" That news made my hand clench and the cell phone would have to be replaced…again, but I eased off my anger and focused on what I needed to do.

"Have Scarlet assemble a team and send Seekers to former residences and get these people out of there. Be subtle, Kevin. And get all others not assembled to meet in the Council Room tomorrow afternoon." I ordered. "I'll brief Scarlet on the meeting after."

Kevin confirmed the time and meeting before hanging up. I turned to Metz with a smile. I needed to get back to my team. He read the message in my eyes.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow then." Metz said with a smile as I said goodbye and left giving a wave to Lady Ess who just nodded in my direction.

I reached the house and was surprised to find that the rain clouds over head hadn't emptied all over the city. When I opened the door, Lok and Sophie broke apart as if-

"I hope I wasn't-" I started when I realized I was talking to a couple of teenagers who were pretty close, "Scratch that." I muttered praying that I had stopped something before it went too far.

I looked at the pile of books that lay on the floor.

"Sophie." I whispered as I picked up the books and placed them on the shelves. What used to be heavy tomes felt like feathers though the shelve quaked when I placed all of them on the shelves.

Lok and Sophie stared at me with powerful, guilt provoking stares.

"What?" I asked them with a shrug.

"We know that you used the tomes to gain the power to save us." Lok said.

I knew now and let out a resigned breath. "Not only you two. But everyone."

It was time to tell them everything. About everything that's happened the past month. About Metz and the Professor. About the Legendary Titans. About my impending fate.

"I think you two better sit down." I said.

They listened and I told them.

***

"Kevin found me on the fortress rooftop." I started.

"Kevin?" Lok and Sophie interrupted.

"You met him in Vienna. He's third in ranking in the Foundation. Now, no questions until after." I said and saw Lok about to open his mouth to ask another question but I stopped him with a hard stare. "Now, he brought me back to Venice telling me that he saw the Organization carry the two of you out, but he was one man compared to a troop of pumped up Suits and two Organization higher ups. He saw the battle on the roof and went up to see if I somehow survived and was left for dead. I was.

"Soon, the Organization spread the news that Zhalia had killed me. Most of the Seekers in the Foundation believed me to be MIA recovering from a near fatal fight. That was partly true, but that was when I was trying to come up with a plan to save the Foundation in Europe and save you two. I recruited Kevin and a close friend of mine, Ian Scott. Ian gathered intel that our Seekers were falling, and that the chain of command was starting to collapse.

"I acted out on priority while Kevin and Ian tried to get everyone else to move to the US temporarily. I evacuated the Council and brought Metz here to Skylark. This is also called Haven City."

Sophie gasped in recognition of the name, but I continued.

"I recruited others really late in the month. In fact, only two weeks ago. After I had your mother and sister, Lok, evacuated from their home, I recruited Scarlet's team and then found Montehue. But we were too late to help him and Tersely was caught.

"News reached us that the Professor was heading to Turkey to get the Legendary Titan of Body, Behemoth. We couldn't beat him and by the way he cut a bloody path to the Amazon base, I realized that I needed to transport the Amazons away. Kevin, Ian, and I defended the Amazon tribe, but when Hippolyta was killed the Amazons started to flee or surrender. I ordered Ian to take them to plane and wait for us. Kevin held off the Suits while I went against the Professor."

Lok and Sophie stared at me with incredulous eyes.

"I had already read what was in the books and the battle was…fierce. I-"

I paused, hesitated. _Would they hate me if I told them?_

"I killed him in the duel, but somehow in a last act for the Organization, he teleported away the rings of Behemoth and Araknos. Kevin and I wiped the memories of the Suits before leaving with Ian and whatever remained of the Amazon tribe. They decided to become a sect of the Foundation that would teach the next generation in the ways of the Amazon, if any wished to learn."

I stopped because this was where it got hard.

"Two weeks ago. I learned that Metz had passed a date. That the curse could no longer be removed and that he was bound to the spirit world because of it. He can't lead the Council anymore- and two weeks ago…he- I-" I hesitated and chose careful words, "He gave me the leadership of the Foundation."

If those kids' eyes could get any wider, they would have popped out of their skulls.

"So, you're-" Lok started when Sophie elbowed him in the gut. "Sorry, go on."

I struggled not to smile, but failed.

"Eventually, one of our spies within Organization ranks gave us some intel that you and Tersely and many important Seekers were being held in the compound in Vienna. He was even able to tell me that it was Klaus's base and that there Zhalia, Rassimov, and maybe even the Legendary Titan, Behemoth, might be.

"It was only three days ago that I created the plan to storm the complex and get everything. You didn't get to meet Ian because the two of you were out cold by the time we reached the plane, but Ian was the pilot. We saved everyone, but were unable to recover Behemoth. And now- now we're here."

Lok and Sophie exchanged glances. Sophie was the first to speak.

"So, technically, you're the leader of the Council and the Foundation?" she asked.

I shook my head. "As long as Metz still breathes, he leads the Council, but as for the forces that are countering the Organization, they are under my rule. I still defer to Metz, of course. But- but when he- dies…I'll-"

The two just nodded in comprehension thankfully keeping me from continuing on the subject.

"And your self?" Lok asked.

It was then that I realized I had left out the information about myself.

"Everyone tried hard to prevent me from reading the tomes, but I did. If I don't die before I turn, then you'll have to kill me." The words slipped off my tongue easily. I had no trouble talking about my death, but from the expression on Sophie's face and the shock on Lok's, I knew it was troublesome for them. "Listen, I'm not planning to stick around to destroy the world." I assured them, "I'm taking Rassimov and whoever he's in league with before I-"

"And what if you don't?" It was Lok who asked.

"Let's not discuss that now." I said, finally feeling uneasy about the topic. "Listen, there's going to be a meeting tomorrow. Our dormant, former, wiped agents are being attacked in Europe. The Organization is looking for us."

"Why?" Sophie asked, "I remember that the Organization stopped after they raided my home. They said that Foundation moved to the US and they'd be coming here next."

"They think former agents might have dormant information in their heads." I answered.

"About?" Lok asked.

"Where we are." I said.

"Because of-" Lok started waiting for me to fill in the blank.

"Because of Zhalia, isn't it?!" Sophie burst out when she saw my eyes wander to the stairs.

I sighed as I walked to the stairs. "You wouldn't understand."

As I started up the stairs I started wonder if they would. But then I thought of things between Zhalia and me. Kevin and Ian thought that she was, in their words, hot, but that I hated her. Yet they all suspected that I had feelings for her. I didn't even understand how people could think that I had affectionate feelings for her and yet, that the same time, I hated her.

The truth was, that I didn't hate her. I- I'm actually too scared to admit it to myself. And sometimes I'd laugh when I found myself scared at this. I'd faced death against the Professor and yet, I'm scared. Scared stiff. As I reached out for the doorknob to her room, I realized that if the topic of my feelings were ever opened in her presence I'd be frozen with fear.

* * *

**_Yeah, he's dealing with what's expected of him as well as what everyone thinks of him. And let's not forget his emotions concerning his charges and Zhalia. I'm thinking about the next chapter going to Zhalia. But you've got to give me some time since APs and Honors are catching up to me._**

**_-Phoenix_**


	8. Chapter 7: Do I Care About Him?

**_I originally decided that I would write from Dante's POV and the next event would take place at the meeting scheduled for the next day in the story. But I thought about the pairing and I decided to make it Zhalia's POV and have a little dark goings-on concerning Dante._**

* * *

Chapter Seven: Do I Care About Him?

_Zhalia_

_I watched. My vision was cloudy but I could see them. Two people. Two men. One I recognized as Dante. The other was....the Professor himself. I surveyed my surroundings and saw that they were in a clearing in the center of a forest. There was a temple in the background with the statue of Diana in the front. The piece then clicked together, this was the duel in the Amazon forest._

_I gaped, awed and amazed when the two fired columns of fire at one another. Dante's fire was gold while the Professor's was a very dark and eerie purple. The two powers collided in the center and what I recognized as a battle of magic and will had been launched. There were never any records of any Seeker formal duels fought since the days of Casterwill and the Nullifiers, but there were records of how such duels were fought. First was the battle of magic formally called the Battle of Wills. Whoever won the fight would have the advantage of using spells in the combat duel. A ring of magic surrounding the area of the battle, was the magical boundary that locked the two in the duel. The color of the ring would symbolize what kind of duel- I froze. I had studied ancient magic, it was a subject that interested me ever since I joined the Organization, and the color of the ring was black- a death duel._

_Trying my luck, I crossed the black ring and found myself within the duel itself. The purple column of fire soon overwhelmed the gold and minutes later Dante was thrown back against the dome of black, a purple essence attaching itself to his visible gold aura that had suddenly become visible._

_Dante screamed in agony and I glanced back at the Professor to see that he had his hand extended and curled in a claw hold as if he was taking a hold of something. Then with a vicious yank, the Professor pulled his hand back and I covered my ears as I heard another scream echo around me._

_I heard the Professor laugh as he slowly walked towards Dante, who was lying on his side gasping for breath, his aura a faint light against the dark black and his weapon a double edge broadsword feet away from him. In a futile effort, I ran towards Dante and stood in front of him only to have the Professor walk through me. A sword materialized in his right hand._

_"You are utterly weak, Dante Vale." the man said as he raised his blade. "Foolish boy. You were marked for death the moment you challenged me."_

_Dante challenged the Professor? Was he planning to die? I asked myself._

_"No, I think you've got it wrong. It's the other way around." he said as he extended his hand and the sword lying feet away from him flew into his hand._

_The Professor was just as shocked as I was, but he recovered fast and the Duel of Prowess had begun. Both men only had call over one Titan and call to an ancient weapon. I saw Dante reach for his Caliban amulet when he kicked the Professor back._

_"Dante, no!" I screamed in warning. I had seen the tactic before somewhere in my life. The Professor made it look like his enemy had won and for that moment when his enemy lowered their guard._

_My warning was only for my ears. This had happened already and I was only witness to an event that had already happened. the Professor whirled around and sliced at Dante's sword arm catching Dante on the forearm. Dante cried out but yelled for Caliban to come to the field. I saw a smile on the Professor's face was one of perceived triumph. The Organization's leader called for Araknos to come to the field._

_For the first time in my life I beheld the legendary Titan of Mind and stared at it in awe. Fear registered in the back of my mind, but it wasn't fear for myself._

_"Behold your fate, Dante!" the Professor yelled over the gale that blew through. "Now, die."_

_A gold string shot to Caliban and the Titan froze mid-attack on the Professor and turned to its master._

_"Dante!" I cried out._

_But I saw that eerie calm look on Dante's face. I couldn't understand why. He was bereft of abilities because he had lost the Battle of Wills, lost his Titan to Araknos's ability, lost use of his sword arm, and he was cornered by three deadly opponents._

_Caliban was the first to attack. Dante parried the blow to his neck and brought up his leg to meet Caliban's side. I winced. The attack would have hurt Dante more than it would have his Titan. With all his strength, Dante brought his sword in his Titan's chest using his left hand as his sword arm._

_The smile on the Professor's face dissipated. "Why don't you die?"_

_"You can't kill me, Professor." Dante called over the heavy winds. "Do you know why?!"_

_The Professor grit his teeth. "Tell me, why."_

_"You're fighting for yourself. For your own power." Dante answered, "I'm fighting for others. I'm the greater power here, not you."_

_He moved with amazing speed with the wind against his back, pushing him forward. The Professor launched power left and right which Dante dodged or blocked with his blade. Soon, he had made his way to the Professor and the two were at a dueling stance once more._

_I held my breath. Araknos was looming overhead and at one gesture from the Professor reached down with an arm...which was promptly cut off by Dante. However, in his reach with his left hand to cut off the Titan's limb, the Professor slammed his blade against Dante's upper arm. There was no cry of pain as Dante dropped to one knee and the sword flew in the air._

_"Die." the Professor hissed as he raised his sword._

_But suddenly, I watched as Dante reached up and grabbed the hilt of his blade with his injured right hand. He didn't raise his sword in defense but met a killing blow with a killing blow. He leaned to his left as he drove his sword into the Professor's chest._

_From where I was, I could hear the crack as sword pierced bones and I heard the Professor's gasp._

_"I told you before." said Dante as he withdrew his blade from the Professor's side, but he didn't get up, only pushing the Professor's body off to the side. It was then that I saw it. Dante didn't escape the attack completely. The Professor's sword had pinned Dante to the ground and had pierced his right shoulder._

_The Professor raised his hand and laughed. "You may have won, Dante. But we both will die here and...the Organization will have the Legendary Titans." He muttered a spell I couldn't recognize. But whatever spell he had said had its desired purpose. The rings of Behemoth and Araknos were gone._

_"Even...if you don't die here...you will be my heir soon enough." the Professor smiled._

_"Never." Dante hissed as he reached up to grab the sword's hilt only to find it was out of reach for him._

_The Professor gave a throaty laugh. "You...will lead...the Org- anization...one day...Dante."_

Suddenly, the air around me screamed and I woke up.

I looked down to see the Caliban amulet hanging around my neck glowing with a bright blue light. The room was just beginning to darken and I realized that night had fallen wherever Dante had brought me. Earlier today, he had told me the amulet around my neck was the one he had used in his duel against the Professor.

"I switched the amulets. I wanted my old one back." he said with a smile as if we were casually talking.

"Why do I still have a Caliban amulet?" I asked him.

"You bonded with one. It means you deserve one. Besides, Caliban is a heroic amulet. He bonds with those that have the makings of a great hero. Did you think I'd take a symbol like that away from you?" he asked in return. I shrugged my shoulders in answer.

Besides that, my day had gone along just smoothly. Sophie or Lok never bothered to visit me and when Dante was gone, Cherit was with me and he was always a good distraction and informant. He told me about what Dante had done with the books when I asked him, but I felt like he was keeping some key bit information out of it. The little Titan had also informed me of a meeting taking place in Metz's place the next day.

I had fallen asleep sometime after that, tired from jet lag. Then came that dream... I stopped myself. It wasn't a dream. It was a vision. A vision of the past. A vision I had somehow accessed from... I looked down to the amulet. It was impossible but the theory formed in my mind. Somehow, the Titan had projected the vision into my mind.

I had read of that before that only happened when the original owner or previous owner was in distress. Cherit was taking a nap at my leg. He only needed an hour of rest to recuperate after a long week. I nudged him to wake up.

"Is there something a matter?" the Titan asked in his strange diction.

"Let me go." I whispered to him. "There's something wrong with Dante."

"There is?" Cherit said as his ears swiveled. "I don't hear anything."

"Trust me, there's something wrong!" I said urgently. Fear was welling up inside me. There was something dark in the house.

Cherit looked up at me with trusting eyes and nodded. "Please, don't do anything that will get you in trouble." he said as he flew up to my manacled and picked at it with his claws.

The manacles came clean off and then I was at a full run. My senses were registered something dark and I followed them to a room at the end of the hall. I tried the door but found it was locked. Now, that was stupid because that fraction of a second it took to unlock a door could mean the difference between surviving and being killed. Everyone knew that Seekers on either side knew.

"Farslip." I whispered as the green spell surrounded the lock. I heard the tiny click and threw the door open.

I allowed myself a moment of shock as I took in the vision itself. The Professor was surrounded in a purple aura and his hand was extended over a sleeping Dante's chest. His lips were moving in a chant and Dante was reacting to it, his body occasionally twisting as if in pain.

"Hey!" I screamed, "Leave him alone! Raypulse!"

The ghost or spirit...or whatever caught the spell in his hands. All of a sudden I was wrenched off my feet and thrown against the wall crashing into what looked like an ancient Chinese vase. The crash woke up Dante, who didn't even take a moment to registered the situation. He spotted the Professor and shot up, pulling up something from the pillow beneath him. In the glint of the moonlight that found its way through the narrow gap in the curtains, I saw that he was holding a small katana.

"Simon?" he asked.

"So, Metz has told you the truth." the Professor smiled as his hand pushed and I felt more pressure against me as I was pinned harder to the wall.

"Let her go." Dante said emphatically. There was a deadly tone in his voice.

"Or else, what, Dante? I'm already dead." the man replied.

"What the hell do you want from me?!" Dante shouted.

The pressure against my chest and head was making me dizzy. I was struggling to breath. My arms flailed and I finally choked. I watched as Dante's eyes widened.

"_Let her go!_" Dante yelled as he jumped to his feet and sliced at the Professor's visage. He disappeared and I collapsed to the ground. "Zhalia!"

There were black spots in my vision and soon I felt hands helping me up. Somehow, something rang in my head.

"Dante, he's not-" I started turning to face him when all of a sudden Dante was hurled across the room and I to the other side. I crashed into a glass framed picture before striking the ground.

"Zhalia!" Dante cried out, in alarm. A thought crossed my mind, he was more scared for me than he was for himself.

The Professor appeared, his hand around Dante's throat and holding him up high off the floor.

"You shouldn't have killed me, Dante." the Professor mocked, "Now I am more powerful than I ever was in your world."

Dante's answer was choked and he couldn't get a single word out.

"What was that?" the Professor asked tauntingly.

"Raypulse!" I cried as I hurtled a weak lightning spell at him. One that struck him in the shoulder much to my surprise. The Professor faltered for a moment and Dante slammed his knee into the man's chest.

Once free of the spirit's grip, Dante through him back with a Forceblast. However, the man was prepared and disappeared only to materialize at Dante's side and kick him in the ribs. I struggled to get to my feet but my body was in so much pain and the sudden movements combined with lack of oxygen was making me lose consciousness, something I was trying so hard not to do.

"The Spirit World calls for your soul, Dante Vale." the Professor said as he walked over to me.

"Leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this!"

"On the contrary," the Professor said as he grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. I suddenly felt a new wave of nausea wash over me. Whatever the Professor was, he could affect both Dante and me on an internal level, "The whole spirit world knows of the two of you. It's clearer to me now more than ever. Why don't you ask Metz who your real parents are and where they are?"

I saw the pained look cross Dante's face and I wished that there was some way I could shut the dead guy up, but in my state, I couldn't do much but look and listen. The Professor suddenly dropped me as the doors swung open and Lok and Sophie stood in the hallway. Both of them launched a Boltflare at the Professor, the shock not registering on their faces as far as I could tell.

The man screamed as if it had done bodily harm before disappearing completely. Dante landed in a crouch on the floor before running over to me and picking me up. I felt his arms underneath me and his bare skin against my arm.

"What the hell happened here?!" I heard Lok ask breaking the silence.

"I'll tell you two tomorrow." Dante answered as he lay me on his bed. I didn't know what happened next all I heard was Dante say, "You two go to sleep, I'll take care of her."

"Uh-huh." Lok said. Even I could hear the implication from his voice before the door was closed.

"Zhalia, are you alright?" Dante's voice was becoming more distant. "Zhalia?"

I was out cold before I could answer him, but I saw him hovering over me with the most worried expression etched onto his rugged features. The moonlight touched the side of his face I had marked with hand. The scars hadn't diminished his look but had added to his darker appearance. However, in the very dim light he looked like an angel. I closed my eyes, but I hadn't totally lost consciousness yet.

"Oh, Zhalia." he whispered and I felt his callous finger tips gently trace the side of my face. "I'm so sorry I dragged you into this."

Before I was out cold, a single thought ran through my head, _He cares about me, but do I care about him?_

* * *

**_Okay, so yeah. Pairing established, but I'm sure you guys have already figured that part out. Don't worry there's going to be a lot more Sophie and Lok and there's going to be a lot more Casterwill vs. Nullifier, Dante vs. himself, Organization vs. Foundation and well let's just say that Zhalia and Dante get serious and there are parties against and for the relationship._**

**_Also, heads up readers. There is going to be a new Huntik fic, but a ZhaliaDante pairing. It's about their wedding day. Anyone readers?_**

**_-DragonPhoenix16_**


	9. Chapter 8: The Guardian Line

**_There was a certain path I was going to take with this story but it looks like it's taking another path altogether. I've already got most things planned and well I'm postponing the all-important meeting. I'm going to establish some more DanteZhalia in this and also something that connects Dante and Sophie._**

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Guardian Line

_Dante_

It's my fault. Everything. It's all my fault. Zhalia's been dragged into this and all I wanted was for her to be separated from Klaus long enough for me to tell her the truth. But if I did that, would she hate me? Turn on me and on the others? Turn on herself?

And then Lok and Sophie, those two were getting close and if there was anything I knew about teenagers it was that hormones are crazy. There was nothing I could do except perhaps... No, they have to learn from their mistakes all I can do is warn them.

Suddenly, a voice rang through my head. The phantom visiting me once more but mentally instead of physically.

_"You...will lead...the Org- anization...one day...Dante."_

_"The whole sprit world knows of the two of you. It's clearer to me now more than ever."_

_"Why don't you ask Metz who your real parents are and where they are?"_

I woke up with a start...shot up in the bed was what actually happened. I ran my hand over my face and wiped the sweat on my pants. The nightmares were getting extreme now. I had never had a peaceful sleep but after Zhalia's betrayal everything just spiraled to hell. The waking world and the dream were both hells that I had to live through, and it was like torture.

Suddenly, I felt heat against the side of my arm and I remembered that Zhalia was with me. I turned to see her lying peacefully at my side, a calm, tranquil peace on her face and a small smile on the edges of her lips.

Emotions ran through my head all at once.

Pain.

Regret.

Anger.

All of them running through me like bright flashes.

Pain at what I was feeling for her. Regret at what I've done to myself and to others and anger at what's happened and what has to happen. In the whole world, I had to... It had to be... And she was an Organization agent out to kill me.

A dead adversary was out to turn me dark, which wasn't going to be hard to do in a couple of days, the Foundation in a final showdown against the Organization, two teenagers are stuck in the middle and-

Zhalia.

She complicates a lot and everyone knows it. Maybe she doesn't know...hopefully...but my assignment had been to kill her. To take out the woman that knew too much about the Foundation and everything. But I couldn't.

Gently, I brushed my fingers against her face moving the hair that stuck to her forehead away to the side.

"Zhalia." I whispered. I couldn't tell what was in my voice.

She moaned. Her eyelids flickering before she slowly stirred. I kept my eyes on her watching as her eyes blinked and she looked up at me with this intriguing chocolate brown eyes of hers. A drowsy expression was soon replaced with alertness and alarm. She jumped out of the bed and stood a few feet away from me. I couldn't help but smile. I saw the worry on her face.

"I'm not going to chain you up again. I'm not going to hurt you." I said to her as I held my hands up innocently. I remembered that the small katana was in its sheath under my pillow and I hoped she would and take it as sufficient proof that I wasn't going to hurt her.

"I know, but what if Lok and Sophie see us. Won't they think anything about it?" she asked, her eyes were towards the door. I was impressed, it took her three seconds to come up with an excuse. Sure it sounded like a genuine concern, but I knew Zhalia, she didn't give a damn about what others thought of her unless they were higher than her in rank. She accepted compliments sure, but the opinions that really mattered in her mind were those from Klaus or Rasimov and for a couple of months...me.

I shrugged. My eyes fell to her neck and the glowing Caliban amulet. It was the one I had exchanged with her when she was out cold. It was the same amulet I had used in the battle with the Professor. The Professor- I studied her carefully. "Zhalia, I need to talk to you."

She approached the bed warily and took a seat at the edge. I walked over to the wall and leaned against it so that I faced her. Her stare was hard, but I think that was normal for her. I didn't know what to start with what I wanted to tell her originally about Klaus? About my actual mission? Or my own questions?

"I was sent to kill you." I said plainly, deciding for myself where to start, and I gauged for her reaction. There was a flicker of surprise before it melted away.

"I figured. I was too close to the alpha of the Seekers and they think I gleaned a lot of secrets." she answered casually. She was back in her Organization behavior, her eyes hard, her expression emotionless, and her body language looking tense as if ready to snap at a whim.

"Did you?" I asked.

"Not a lot. You were very careful." she smiled and I couldn't help but throw the smile back at her. Then it disappeared, "Why did you keep me alive?"

I wasn't going to tell her the full reason of course. "I believed that you can come over to our side. There was no way that everything was just an act. In fact-" I took a couple of steps closer to her. "I'm betting that in Ireland that bug that drained magic was meant for me."

I saw the slightest hint of emotion and knew that I had hit the truth. My mind wandered to Egypt. "And on that dig, you sabotaged the map that led to the waterfall where Klaus ambushed us."

I was closer to her, now. "What about Klaus's lab?"

I was in front of her now and she was looking up at me with a guilty expression. "You never killed me. You couldn't." I knelt down in front of her. "Why?"

She looked away and the urge to leave was what my Seeker conscience told me. Not to get involved with the enemy.

"Last night, you were free. Cherit released you, but you didn't run you ran to my room." I realized how that could be interpreted but it was too late. The words had already spilled from my mouth and it was up to her decipher them on her own.

Her brown eyes were on me once more.

"I saw it." she whispered. I swore to myself that I saw water in her eyes and that they were glistening, but she was blinked fast and once more the emotion was gone. "I saw you and the Professor dueling."

I glanced down at the Titan around her neck, a theory forming in my mind. Could the Titan have projected its memory of the fight into her dream realm?

"It was a death duel and you challenged him!" she cried as her eyes were throwing daggers at me in rage, "How could you? You could've killed yourself."

"I wasn't thinking about anything but going against him." I answered honestly.

The next thing was unexpected.

With a quick motion, she slapped me. Her hand meeting the cheek she had marked with her Venomhand spell a month before. I contained the violent rage that rose through me, a rage that had almost released itself on Sophie yesterday. The same rage that wasn't me.

"You should've died. There was no one there and you were pinned by a sword to the ground and losing blood fast. Goddamnit, Dante!"

"You betrayed me, remember?! Us! The whole team, Sophie and Lok!" I shouted my rage escaping just then. "Damnit, Zhalia, don't get me angry. I challenged the Professor because I knew what I was doing and I knew what he would do. A chance to stop me, was his one goal because he already had Lok and the Titan- the only thing left on his To Do List was to kill me and he was going to be as sloppy as ever-" I realized I was straying. "I knew he'd make a mistake and I underestimated him a little."

She was silent and I took that moment to switch topic. "Why didn't you run? You never answered my question."

Once again, she looked away and I wondered if I wanted to know the reason.

"I..." she started and then paused. "I felt something dark in the house- And I instantly thought that it was you."

I found it interesting how Lok and Sophie being in danger never crossed her mind.

"I thought it might by Lok and Sophie at first, for a second-" Mentally, I scratched off that note. "But something was screaming in the back of my mind that you were the one in trouble and-"

I was sure she was crying now. A tear slid down her cheek and I knelt down in front of her and brushed it away.

"You idiot." she whispered, somehow gently and jokingly, before her eyes betrayed her seriousness. "You should've cared more about yourself."

"You're the idiot for thinking that I would ever do that." I countered, "I could never put myself first."

"You should-" she whispered, "Because..."

I heard the conflict in her voice and knew that she was fighting something.

_"Never put your emotions into the problem, Dante."_ Metz had drilled into my mind.

I never listen and I didn't listen. I tilted her face so that she was looking at me and without permission- without a word- I kissed her. She responded almost immediately, pulling me on top of her and down so that she was underneath me. When her hands roamed down my back, I realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt and her touch made my skin flare. She groaned when I moved my mouth to her neck and sucked on a spot in between the base of her neck and her shoulder. One of her hands was tangled in my hair and the other was making claw scratches against my back which was...a groan escaped my throat.

"Dante!" she cried, making my heart thud against my chest. My hands gently caressed her skin under her shirt before reaching for the button of her jeans.

"God, get a room!" I heard a shout behind me.

"Oh my, God!" came another voice. Both were male and definitely not Lok.

I picked my head up and threw a look over my shoulder. Zhalia quickly released me and that burning emotion that flared through me instantly dissipated.

I saw Ian and Kevin at the door which was open wide and on their faces was the look of....

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I asked as I straightened and blocked Zhalia from their view. They were gaping at her.

"Christ, you two need to get a room!" Kevin said as he turned around and shrugged his shoulders.

"_This is my room_!" I yelled at them, emphatically. Kevin mouthed an 'oh, right' before turning around, Ian however didn't.

"She's hot." Ian commented, on the balls of his feet trying to peek over my shoulder.

"GET OUT!!" I bellowed.

Ian reflexively closed the door and I saw shadows shift meaning that they left.

I sighed and turned back to Zhalia who was no longer on the bed. She was standing near the window on the far side of the room staring out the window.

"Zhalia." I whispered as I closed the distance between the two of us. I kept the minimum amount of distance between us. I didn't want to hold her for that certain fear of rejection and right now, especially right now, I didn't think I'd take it very well. "Stay with me." I pleaded, "I brought you back because- I... care... about you."

"More than you should." she bit out harshly. The comment stung and I hesitated, enough for her to notice.

She turned to me with tears in her eyes and I reached out to brush them away from her cheek again. "What's wrong?"

"This!" she exclaimed as she reached out and laid a hand on my forearm where an ugly scar, a memento of my fight with the Professor, reached up from the base of my hand to my elbow. Her arm then went to my chest over scars long healed. "This. Us. It wasn't supposed to be like this. You weren't supposed to be so hard."

"To kill." I finished for her.

"Yes." she whispered and turned around but I grabbed her shoulders and turned her so that she faced me.

"Same thing about you. Tell me, Zhalia." I pleaded as I cupped her face, "Why didn't you kill me? Why won't you stay-"

I saw a small puncture wound near her hairline, there were several puncture marks, most of them scars and it was then I remembered. The name the person that I truly loathed even more than Rassimov and the Professor...Klaus.

"I...care about you, Dante." she whispered to answer me as my voice froze in my throat. "But- I- You have obligations to people and so do I."

The word "love" wasn't in her vocabulary. At least not in the way that it had once meant to me, before I immersed myself in a path that would eventually lead me to my death. "Love" meant nothing more to me than a tie to this world. One which would cost me pain. I couldn't say it any more than she could.

"Don't make me choose between you and Klaus. Because I will always choose Klaus." she whispered truthfully and I respected her for that, "Just as you will always choose Lok, Sophie, and Metz over me."

She was right in a way. She had hit the truth and I couldn't challenge her without spilling my heart and wearing it on my sleeve for everyone to see...and peck at.

"So where does that leave us?" I asked. "I can't let you go and I don't want to have to manacle you to your room."

"I won't betray you, but if Klaus comes I will go back to him." she answered me. "I'm not losing my only family."

Family? The word reminded me of what the Professor had said and what he had wanted me to do: Ask Metz about my parents. The man had told me once that they had died in a car crash when I was four. Metz took me in and told me that my parents were great Seekers and that I would one day take up their mantle.

"Dante?" Zhalia asked.

Her voice anchored me to the present.

"We have to go and-" I started when something in my head rang and pain shot up my shoulder. "Aahhh!!"

I fell to my knees.

"Dante!" Zhalia shouted as she knelt beside me her hand on my shoulder. "Oh my God!"

"What- what is it?" I gasped as the pain rang through me and I yelled again.

Soon it was over and I was gasping for breath, on my hands and knees, my shoulder still searing with pain.

"Dante?!" shouts rang from the hallway and soon the door was thrown open and everyone, Lok, Sophie, Cherit, Kevin, and Ian were in my room. I heard gasps.

"What?" I asked. I turned towards the far side of the room and saw a mirror. It flew into my hand and I angled it so that I could see where Zhalia's hand was on my shoulder. I heard Lok and Sophie gasp with surprise, but I ignored them my eyes on the mirror. And on my shoulder in black ink, there was a mark of an infinity with a cross hitting the dead center. It was a mark that registered in the back of my mind.

"Oh my God!" Sophie cried as I got to my feet and helped Zhalia up.

"Don't worry. I'm not betraying you." Zhalia whispered as everyone's eyes locked onto her, "Unless Klaus comes personally, then I'll have no choice."

"What?" Lok asked, his eyes on Zhalia. "Dante, you're letting her free?"

"We have bigger problems." Sophie said as she stepped forward to me. I was thankful that she didn't side with Lok, but at the same time she wasn't siding with me.

Her hand stretched out and reached to my shoulder. When her hand met the new mark on my shoulder she gasped and I felt a spark of fire go off in my mind.

Lok was at Sophie's side. "Soph?"

"Sophie, what's that mark?" I asked her. I knew the recognition in her eyes. The same look she had when she saw me and knew that it was really me and not some spell.

"It's the mark of the Guardian. He who is tied with Casterwill." Sophie said.

"What does that-" Zhalia started when I saw Lok glare at her with a merciless threat in his eyes. I was about to reprimand him but Sophie beat everyone to the first word.

"Not related to my family. I mean- in a way..." she paused, "I'm talking about Casterwill and the Nullifier's origin of power. Casterwill was the power of good and the Nullifiers, the leader was Tenebrae, was of evil."

"We know the story." Ian interjected. "Anything new?"

Sophie nodded and continued, "Casterwill was the brother of Tenebrae. They came from the same family but they took different sides. However, they had the same source of magic. The mark on Dante's shoulder is the crest of their family. The family the Nullifiers and Casterwill came from-"

"Wait!" Kevin interrupted as we all looked at him. "Casterwill and the Nullifier leader were brothers?"

Sophie nodded. "They were twins."

"What line are they both descended from and what does the mark mean?" I asked.

Sophie's eyes locked onto mine. "The mark means that you're either a descendant of the same line or that you were chosen by Casterwill himself. We won't know for sure until I decipher the tomes downstairs. But the family crest is that of the Patronus line."

Patronus. It was a Latin word.

"Isn't that the spell they use in Harry Potter?" Ian asked gaining a laugh from Kevin and Lok.

I nodded. "Patronus is protector or guardian in Latin. It basically translates into the Guardian Line."

* * *

**_I am not lying Patronus is really Latin for Protector or Guardian. J.K Rowling used Latin words for her spells which was pretty smart since a lot of languages evolved from Latin [Spanish, French, all the romantic languages]._**

**_Well, Dante is tied to a lot of things and I thought his perspective and his thoughts on things were pretty fun to write. The next chapter will either be Sophie or Lok since I've given Zhalia most of the limelight in the beginning in the story._**

**_Also, about that wedding fic that will also be DanteZhalia and LokSophie. It'll be a long time before I actually get that posted up, but I will. Soon. By Christmas as a present to all of you faithful and amazing readers- [The story will be a oneshot]- So stay tuned._**

**_-Phoenix_**


	10. Chapter 9: Time to Fight

**_MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!!! Hope you enjoy this. This is from Lok's POV._**

* * *

Chapter Nine: Time to Fight

_Lok_

"It basically translates into the Guardian Line." Dante finished saying.

I stared at him in disbelief. I wanted to say something and comment, but I seemed to lose the ability to talk at that moment. It was Zhalia who noted the expression on my face.

"What's wrong, Lok?" she asked, emotionless.

At the moment, I didn't want to talk to her. I didn't trust her, not one bit. She didn't hesitate to betray us the last time and she said only earlier that she would betray us... Mentally, a part of me supplied the part that I had cut off. _She'd only betray us if Klaus came himself to get her back._ My mind reminded me, but I had a hard time believing that.

I didn't answer her. And the expression on her face did not change when I didn't bother to. She just looked back at Dante, who seemed to be the only tie to this team.

"What is it?" Sophie asked me gently, her hand catching my arm.

My eyes turned to her. "My father used to tell me stories about the Guardian Line."

"Can we skip storytime and save it for tonight?" Ian asked, his eyes down on his phone. "Got a text from Tersely. The meeting's starting in a good half hour. They need to test the projectors for the other Council members. So taking that into account, we've got forty-five minutes."

"The drive is only five." Dante interjected as he stood. "Go ahead, Lok."

I looked to Sophie before looking out to the others. I didn't have a talent with words. My father did, but he wasn't the one telling the story to them now.

"Well, he said that after the defeat of the lord of the Dark and the death of the leader of Light-" I started.

"He never mentioned Casterwill or the Nullifiers specifically?" Kevin asked.

I shook my head. "No, he never mentioned it."

"I don't think your father wanted you to join the family business." Dante said with the strange, sarcastic tone highlighting 'family business'. "Sorry, go on."

"Well, he said after the leader of good died, there was a line that went after protecting those of the Light. They were called the Guardians. They were gifted with the ability called Thoughtspeaking-" Dante interrupted me with a smile.

"That's not the Guardian Line." he cut in.

I stared at him with confusion. My father had said they were the guardians and that it was a family line. Two plus two equals four. It seemed that easy to me.

"They're not?" I asked.

He smiled and shook his head. "No, that's the line of Casterwill's guardian."

Now, everyone was confused.

"There are two different guardian lines. One is the descendant of the family from which both the Nullifiers and Casterwill are descendant from the Patronus Line and the other is the family line that are in a life debt to the Casterwills." Dante started to explain.

The story was familiar to me, but I didn't argue with Dante he knew his stuff.

"I don't know anything about the Patronus Line besides what Sophie's told us." he said giving an acknowledging nod to her, "But about this other line, I know a lot about."

His amber eyes locked onto me and I think he was trying to get a silent point across to me and me only, but it was lost when Ian checked his phone again.

"Okay, people, we've got to get to the manor. People really want to see you, Dante." he informed Dante.

My mentor just nodded and all of us left the room, but I heard Zhalia say something. I turned at the last minute to see Dante turn around and face her.

I disappeared around the corner of the door and watched as the others left.

"I don't think I should go." I heard Zhalia say.

Dante gave a low chuckle. "Why? Scared they'll hurt you?"

"Them hurt me?" she asked, something deadly underlying her voice. I got the sense that it wouldn't be her that would get hurt. "They hate me for turning over the alpha team to the Organization. Even Lok hates me and he was the nicest person on this team."

I heard Dante sigh.

"He doesn't hate you." he said.

"He wouldn't even answer a health question I asked. Not even in contempt." she said.

"And you care because?"

"Why are you asking?"

I found myself asking the same question.

"Lok?" Sophie asked, but I put my finger to my lips to tell her to keep quiet. I gestured with my thumb to the door and she heard the next words.

"Because it shows that you're a good person and not an Organization spy. What spy cares about the enemy?" Dante answered.

Sophie made a point by throwing me a look that said, 'Yeah, Lok, she does care. Be nice to her.'

But I rolled my eyes and shook my head to her in reply.

"Stop trying to make me turn against him!" Zhalia cried. "He is the _only_ family I have! You would never betray the Foundation. Don't ask me to do the same for mine."

I realized that it was a possibility that Zhalia could storm out any minute and that Sophie would be seen. I made a grab for Sophie's arm and pulled her against me. Since she was facing me, we ended up face to face and body against body in the tiny shadow of the door. My breath caught and I was sure that my heart skipped a beat when I felt her hands on my shoulders and her body clinging to mine.

"Hi." she whispered awkwardly. I smiled at her.

"Hi." I answered with the same awkwardness.

The moment was ruined when Zhalia stormed out of the room, her footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. Both Sophie and I leaned against the door hoping to hear something, anything of what Dante was doing, but our curiosity was answered a second later when Dante left the room, not even bothering to close the door. The two of us breathed a sigh of relief, but I felt Sophie's breath against my neck. I gazed down at her.

"Sophie." I whispered when-

"Lok?! Sophie?!" It was Dante.

Sophie's eyes widened in alarm as we broke apart and ran for the stairs. We met the others downstairs. Dante was getting on his motorcycle while Ian, Kevin, and Xalia were in a black SUV. The rev of Dante's engine was thunderous in the once quiet area, and soon he was in the lead leaving Sophie and me to get into the waiting SUV.

The ride to Metz's manor was short and Dante was waiting for us by the time we arrived, leaning against his bike when we parked in the driveway. I couldn't help but notice the lines of cars parked outside the sole manor on the street.

Zhalia was the last one out of the car and the last one in the party when we arrived in, Dante at the head. The door was thrown open long before we even hit the pavement that led to the front door. My mother ran out followed by Cathy, and they made a beeline for me ignoring Kevin and Ian who jumped into a defensive stance before they realized that the two blonde women were related to me.

"Lok!" my mother cried before her arms wrapped around me and she held me close to her. "Oh, Lok! You're okay."

"Little bro!" Cathy whispered as she hugged me from my free side.

It took several moments before they released me. I looked over to see that Sophie was in the fatherly embrace of LeBlanche and Santiago was standing close by, always Sophie's loyal bodyguard. When he hugged her, I couldn't help but feel jealous, and when he said something that made her turn red, I felt like running over and crashing their reunion, but it was Zhalia who stopped me. Well, inadvertently-

"What are you doing here?!" my mother, LeBlanche, and Santiago yelled when they saw her.

Their hands lit up with Boltflares and soon fire filled the air as three Nimblefires flashed towards Zhalia. Dante, Kevin, and Ian stood in front of her protectively.

"She's with me." Dante said, the authority in his voice final.

"She's the reason for-" Santiago started when Dante turned a fierce amber glare towards him.

I was shocked to see Santiago shut his mouth instead of challenge Dante to a duel. If Zhalia was a threat he would have challenged Dante because Zhalia was a threat to Sophie, or at least would have been in his eyes.

"Please," Dante said, the tone of his voice soft and persuasive, "Go ahead and assemble the meeting. Tell Metz to begin and that I'll be in there shortly."

No one argued and I wondered why. Why was it that no one was questioning Dante?

As I made my way up the stairs at the rear of the returning party, I threw a glance over my shoulder to see that Kevin and Ian were following and that- Zhalia attempted to run away, but Dante was too fast and had caught her by the arm. I heard her scream something at him, but from far away it was unintelligible. I made a move to go back when Kevin put his hand out.

"Don't." he said as he gestured towards the open door. "C'mon, we've got a meeting to get to."

I didn't argue, but my eyes remained on the two of them before I entered.

"Kevin? Ian?" I asked as we made our way past the empty den, the empty dining room, and the empty entertainment center.

"What?" Ian replied.

"Why isn't anyone questioning Dante anymore? I mean, I know that he's the next leader of the Foundation and all, but not even to question his decisions? Are they scared because of the dark powers he's learned?" The question made the two men stop dead in their tracks and look at each other with a questioning glance. Immediately, I knew there was more to Dante's story than he had said. "What? What is it?"

"Lok-" Ian started, "You don't know what the Foundation has been through. We were falling apart when news of Dante's supposed death hit the Huntik main stream. When Dante came back- We didn't believe it was him."

"It took my convincing and Metz's word that Dante had come back and even then people didn't trust Dante because you and Sophie were missing." Kevin continued, "They believed that Dante had been corrupted by Zhalia and that he was a traitor who faked his death in order to continue what Zhalia was doing."

"That's stupid!" I yelled. "If he was a traitor, the Huntik Foundation would have crumbled within the twenty four hours that he was assumed dead! He wouldn't have to come back."

"Kid's smart." Ian muttered to Kevin who just nodded.

"You're one of the few logical people that defended Dante." Kevin said, "Even some Council members didn't believe him. It wasn't until Turkey with the Legendary Titan Behemoth that people began to believe him. I mean, those who believed followed him and even those that didn't just went along because they didn't want to see the Foundation crumble and if it meant following a fake then as long as the fake rallied the Foundation they joined."

I listened with disbelief. It was hard to believe that some people thought Dante to be a traitor even though he survived the attempt on his life, and they still planned to overturn him after he rallied everyone else.

"I know what happened in Turkey." I said, "He killed the Professor."

"Yes." Ian nodded, "I'm sure he only told you _that_ part."

"What?" I asked.

"There's something in legend called a Death Duel, something that hasn't been initiated since the time of Casterwill and the Nullifiers. It's an ancient battle that is literally the essence, soul, and being of the person put into the battle." Ian said, "Dante challenged the Professor to this duel and that's where he killed him, and nearly died himself."

"What?!" I practically yelled. "Died?! No, that's-"

"Dante's powerful kid. Not invincible." Kevin said, his face grim and serious.

"The Professor pinned Dante to the ground by the shoulder with a sword. Dante should have died, he lost too much blood by the time Kevin and I showed up." Ian continued, "We even thought he was dead. He wasn't breathing, at least he didn't seem to be."

"But he was alive. He is alive!" I said perplexed, "Get to the point because my head hurts. Why don't people question his authority?"

"Everyone was watching, Lok. Everyone. It was supposed to be the last battle between the Foundation and the Organization." Kevin picked up after Ian. "Dante led us all into the battle that day-"

"No." I said as I shook my head. That wasn't how Dante told the account. "No, it was just you three. You, Ian, and Dante."

Ian shook his head. "It wasn't Lok. It was going to be Judgment Day between the Foundation and Organization."

"Your mother, Scarlett, Montehue, LeBlanche, Santiago- Everyone!" Kevin said, "Dante killed the Professor in front of all of us. Ever since then, no one questioned him. We trust him to lead us all out of this fucking mess."

I shook my head as I leaned back against the wall. I never really saw Dante as the kind of guy that would lead a whole army into battle. He seemed to be the team leader, not an army commander. He was greater now than ever and I knew I should be admiring him for that and looking up to him, but my mind was telling me something else.

It made sense, you look up to the person who destroyed a great evil and did it nearly at the cost of his own life and kept everyone else alive. I would follow that person, but-

"Don't you know what he did to do all that?" I asked.

"We know he used those books, the dark and light tomes." Ian answered.

"I'll go up and check on that meeting." Kevin said as he left Ian and me to talk.

"Why?" Ian asked, "What's wrong, Lok?"

"That's the only reason why people trust him?" I asked.

"It seems stupid to you, doesn't it. To trust a person who just defeated a major enemy?" Ian asked, "Well, not stupid but strange."

"Yeah." I said as he made our way to the stairs where Kevin had gone.

"Well, he individually saved all of us before." Ian said, "And people trusted him and not to mentioned owed him their lives. Your mother and sister for instance. He saved them when some teenage Suits attacked them brutally. Dante saved their lives because the teens couldn't control their powers. Some Council members were nearly assassinated and he protected them, sometimes taking the blow meant for them and surviving it. Dante saved my life from some army Suit general who ready to kill me, Dante killed the guy and left the other Suits out cold. I could go on, but he saved most of us. Scarlet, Montehue-"

We reached the meeting place and before Ian opened the door and hesitated. There was something he wasn't telling me and I knew it.

"There's another reason, isn't there?" I asked.

"It's not my place to tell you." Ian replied.

"I won't get the truth from Dante." I argued. I needed to know. "Please, Ian-"

The older man sighed and he pulled me away from the door. "Dante's the current leader of the Foundation as Metz can't lead but he already has chosen a successor."

"Why? He's going to resign?" I asked.

Ian gave me a look that looked mournful and sad. I shook my head. I didn't understand.

"Dante's dying, Lok." Ian finally said.

My composure shattered.

"Ian!"

We both turned and saw Dante standing at the top of the stairwell with a shocked Zhalia standing at his side.

"You're dying?!" Zhalia asked in disbelief as she whirled at him.

"I-" Dante started, "I'm going dark-"

"You're what?!" Zhalia asked, confusion tangible in the hallway.

"Knowledge comes with a price, Zhalia." he explained as Ian and I exchanged glances. "I'm turning evil. Little by little, I'm losing myself and I am not going to live when I go dark and turn on everyone."

"The greatest light casts the greatest shadow." Ian interjected as an explanation.

"Don't start with the damn riddles." I said, not in the mood to decrypt it.

"I'm strong with the side of good." Dante explained looking between Zhalia and me. I already knew that he was turning dark and that he said I'd have to kill him, but to hear that he was dying. "I'm going to be strong with the force of evil."

"That doesn't mean you're dying." I interrupted. "Dante, we could still free you."

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Ian look away.

"My consciousness and control will fade. A darker consciousness would rise and take over." Dante explained, "That would mean I would die. I am dying, Lok- Zhalia."

It made sense now. Everyone knew that he was going to die, that he'd die mentally and that we'd have to kill him physically. Everyone else, but Sophie, Zhalia, and me knew. Everyone except Sophie knew now.

"We've got a meeting to go to." Ian said as he cleared his throat and threw open the door to the meeting.

They had been in the middle of discussing with Scarlet, who was a hologram in the middle of the table, the evacuation of all former Seekers in Europe to the safe houses, when we had arrived in. The conversation died when everyone saw Zhalia and hatred became tangible. The only one without hate in their eyes, besides Kevin who looked ready to throw a shield if needed, was Metz.

"Ian. Lok. Dante. Zhalia." he said, surprising all of us except Dante when he used Zhalia's first name. "Come join us. Scarlet was about to tell us about the safe house procedure."

"No, I will not." Scarlet interjected her hologram gaze turned to Zhalia. "As long as she is in the room, this matter will go on as discussed. I don't need to elaborate or give out more information."

"Scarlet-" Metz started, but the Irish agent had disappeared leaving the holocom glowing blue. "Well, now that that matter is done, we can move on to something else."

"I'd like to know what she's doing here." asked an agent that I didn't recognize as he pointed a finger at Zhalia. "Why is she still alive Vale? I thought your mission was to kill her."

I hid my shock. That explained the shock that took people's expression before hatred.

"You people are so obstinate." Dante muttered under his breath loud enough for me to hear. Aloud, he said, "She's here with me. Go on."

"All information will be compromised if she remains here!" Santiago exclaimed as he stood, his chair pushed out. "She is a threat to all of us!"

"Santiago, sit down!" Sophie hissed, through grit teeth. "Now!"

Ever reluctantly, he did.

"I agree with Santiago." my mother added to my surprise, "Metz, please have Miss Moon banned from this meeting. These are sensitive matters and they are not to be discussed in the presence of a traitor and spy."

"I knew this would happen." Zhalia said giving an exasperated sigh as her eyes turned to Dante before she looked out to the crowd. "I know you all hate me. For turning over family members and friends and you will never understand my reasons. You want me gone, that I can do. You want me to betray you all again, that won't be too hard."

She turned on her heels and was about to leave the room, but I couldn't let her. I wanted the doors to remain closed and locked.

She reached out to open the door and when she tried to wrench it open it wouldn't budge. I kept staring.

"What the-" I muttered as Zhalia pulled the doorknob and tried to kick the door down.

She whirled around. "Dante, unlock the door!"

He shrugged his shoulders half-smiling. "I didn't do anything." To me, he whispered. "Good job, Lok."

"What?" I asked as I looked up at him out of the corner of my eyes. I saw him wink.

"Looks like we're all stuck here." Kevin said with a laugh as he stood up.

People glowered as Zhalia grudgingly made her way to the end of the table and took a seat besides Dante. I stood and watched the others, my gaze shifting to Sophie ever so often.

"Zhalia is bound to Dante." Metz said, "If anyone's failed to notice, Dante is still living and breathing, and Seekers Lok and Sophie as well as other prisoners have not suffered under any torture while imprisoned in Vienna."

"They wouldn't have been there in the first place." someone countered.

"Shut up!" Dante yelled as people started shouting counterarguments across the room. "Jesus Christ, you do know that she would be dead if I didn't believe that there is still some good in her. I draw the line when a threat comes to the Foundation. I know when to cross it and when to find the balance between it. Now-"

I heard a low thunderous sound coming from beyond the windows as Dante went on making a speech defending Zhalia. I knew he had feelings for her. It was obvious. Now, what was that-

"Oh, fuck." I said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Lok!" my mother scolded, "Watch your-"

"Not now, Mom. Dante, Rassimov and friends." I said as I made for the door and threw it open.

"How was he-" I heard Zhalia start when I rushed down the stairs, the sounds of rushed footsteps behind me echoing.

"Kevin, protect Zhalia! Ian, Lok, Sophie, Santiago, Lexa, Simon, with me! Everyone else, activate the house's defenses and don't let anyone out." I heard Dante throw orders as I rushed out the front door and saw a group of men in black land.

Rassimov was in the lead, landing thirty feet away from the parked cars. Two people on a short-tailed dragon landed followed by at least fifty other people and... My heart stopped. I knew Zhalia was going to betray us and that everything that Dante said would be undermined because when the people from the dragon dismounted I saw Klaus.

I heard footsteps behind me and a low curse and turned to see Dante standing behind me, his jaw set and his fists glowing with fire.

"Lok, there's something I need to tell you." he whispered.

"What?" I asked as the Suits approached.

"Just think of a spell and fire. Don't bother firing." he said with a smile to me before he turned to the others and nodded to them. "Spread out and take out as many of them as you can."

"Gotcha." Ian said as we all ran out onto the field. A line of seven defenders against fifty five.

The battle didn't even start and I knew it was going to be important and-

"Destroy them!" I heard Rassimov yell.

"Have fun doing that." I heard Dante yell in return.

It was time. Time to fight.

* * *

**_Sorry if this was terrible. But I was stuck writing this chapter I promised to upload soon but I got stuck. The next chapter might come easier and it is going to be from Sophie's POV._**

**_HAPPY HOLIDAYS READERS!!_**

**_-DragonPhoenix16_**


	11. Chapter 10: Boy, Dying Really Sucked

**_I am so sorry for not updating soon. My muse sucks. I have to get a new one. I work on personal works so I sometimes don't have time to write the fan fic. I found myself watching more Huntik and I was like... I need to write this._**

**_And I am sorry, I lied. I cannot promise the POVs to remain constant. This is not Sophie it will take place from Zhalia's POV, so...yeah. Do not kill me. I decided to take this story to more of an intense pace. But I have to update faster!! Oh, and Zhalia does not see Klaus at all during this time even though he is present in the battle. Only Lok has seen him._**

**_Enjoy!_**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Boy, Dying Really Sucked

_Zhalia_

I wanted to help. I knew that Rassimov couldn't see within the rose colored shield, but it would have been enough for him to think I had betrayed the Organization. Just as long as Klaus wasn't with them I could never betray the Foundation again. That didn't change the fact that I could feel the Organization training kick in. A part of me was always linked to them and as Rassimov fired the dark spells at the shield, I could feel that dark part of me that had been trained and nurtured for years motivate me to walk to the shield. When I got too close, I felt Kevin's tight grip on my arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he asked me as he pulled me away from the shield. "You go out there and they will concentrate all their power on getting you back. If they think you've betrayed them, we're gonna have a tough time protecting you."

"Why don't you just hand yourself over?!" one man cried out to me. The shield covered most of the house and the front lawn, and most of us had gathered on the lawn ready to rush to help if any of our seven defenders fell.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up?!" Kevin fired back apparently knowing him. "You guys don't know the fucking story, so stay out of this."

"Kevin, enough!" came a commanding voice.

All of us turned back to see that on the porch, in a wheelchair, was Metz and behind him was one of the Council members from the US, her name bore a title and she was known as Lady Carmen Alyssa. She always wore a dress to my knowledge and was now wearing what would be considered battle gear. The dress was silver and was cut across the legs to allow for her to maneuver in a fight. I admired her when I studied the defenses and the Council of the US.

"My son is out there fighting just to protect her!" Sandra yelled at Metz as she pointed at me, "They wouldn't be here if it weren't for her, and you said they didn't know of this haven. How did they find us so fast then?"

"It is far to accuse Zhalia of betrayal. " Lady Alyssa said quick to my defense. "It can be that there are still spies amongst our ranks."

"Who sold _her_ location to them!" someone was quick to add.

I saw Montehue rise from the crowd. "All right, I've now had enough of this accusation flying everywhere. The Organization is attacking us and all you people can think of is feeding one of ours to the sharks."

"She's not one of us." someone countered.

I shouted to Montehue, "Thank you, but defense is no use. And they're right, I should be out there."

I saw it in his eyes that he wasn't defending me because he liked me. I knew that he was defending me because he and Dante were friends despite their rivalry and he trusted Dante more than me. I moved towards the shields, ready to step out and into the open. But once more, Kevin stopped me and pulled me back again, much to the annoyance of many. "They will kill you if you hand yourself over. It will make you look guilty and Dante will rush to your defense- _we will_ lose him if you go out there. It has to look like a hostage situation if you're gonna get out of there safely."

"Kevin-" I started to object when a scream rose in the air. A scream of protest. I turned to see that Lok and had found himself the target of ten advanced Suits and they had all fired consecutively, and Lok wasn't able to defend himself. He was blown back and landed on the ground- to all appearances looking unconscious.

I saw Sophie rush to his side and cast a shield to defend them.

"Sophie!" I found myself yelling along with LeBlanche and Santiago. Kevin and others kept the three of us from racing out of the shield.

However, our worry was alleviated when Dante flew- literally- to their sides and started firing spells in rapid succession moving like lightning, knocking many to the ground and I guessed some with broken necks. Ian was at their side in a second and I attuned my ears trying to isolate their voices from the other noises. It had become a skill of mine.

"I...get him to... manor...call...healer..." That was Dante.

"No...I...fine..." That was Lok.

"You're not all right..." Sophie argued her voice louder than the others, "Ian, get him to the manor!"

I saw Ian nod and I turned to Kevin, who was watching the same scene, but I doubted he bothered to listen in. "You need to get out there. Ian's coming in with Lok and they need someone."

"I'll go." Montehue volunteered as he approached the shield and left as Lok came into the shield in Ian's arms.

Ian gently laid him against the ground next to his mother, who took his hands and held on to him tightly, whispering motherly things to him.

Cathy threw a glare in my direction and I knew that she was blaming me for this. Hell, I was even blaming myself for this. I couldn't take it anymore. I hated the look of betrayal and blame, especially if they were justly given.

I ran out of the shield before anyone could stop me.

Rassimov spotted me easily...and so did Dante. I caught the surprised look on his face, his amber eyes widened, but soon the surprise faded into a composed battle look. His jaw set as he launched a column of fire at Rassimov who was flying towards me. He was able to knock Rassimov from his flight path and knocked him into a group of Suits.

"No!" I screamed at Dante, staring at him and hoping that he understood as if we had a telepathic bond and I could tell him my thoughts with a single look.

He shook his head in disagreement, and I knew he understood- that somehow, he understood.

"Kevin, take her back!" I heard him shout as he launched himself into the air dodging a series of blasts from near Organization agents.

I felt Kevin's hand on my arm and he pulled me back. I glared at him and he met my angry stare with calm and pleading green eyes, "Zhalia, please, don't make my job harder."

I was about to snap back and say that I was making his job easier when all of a sudden, a black fire struck him in the chest and sent him flying back.

"Kevin." I gasped as he flew through the rose colored shield which I could see since I was there when it was cast. I allowed myself a sigh of relief because at least Kevin was safe. I was going to run and turn myself over when something black and ice cold wrapped around my leg and pulled me down. I screamed because it seared through clothes and touched skin, and it was dragging me back to...

"Rassimov!" Dante yelled as he landed in front of me, something glittering in his hands. It wasn't until the pain disappeared and I was free that I realized Dante was holding a sword and it was all too familiar in appearance.

"The Professor's blade." Rassimov said as Dante helped me to my feet and pushed me behind him like a defenseless person, though I hoped he knew that I was far from that. "Don't you think that's walking too close to the edge, Dante?"

"Call your men down and get the fuck out of here, Rassimov. You know what I'm capable of." Dante hissed, his grip on my arm tightening. He was serious and the tone in his voice was deadly and dark, a Dante that was scaring even me. However, a part of me yearned to know how dangerous that side of Dante really could be.

"Yes, and I would like another demonstration. Let's see how dark you've become." Rassimov teased as he extended a hand alight with black fire as if offering it to Dante as a peace sign. "Has the Hunger started to lash out yet?"

I felt Dante tense. My hand that was on his shoulder felt the muscles in his back get rigid as if preparing for an attack. I knew that Rassimov had hit something in Dante, and guessing by the question, this was a sign that this "Hunger" had lashed out.

"It will manifest itself in more ways. Ways that are vile to you, Dante." Rassimov went on with a smirk, enjoying what his words were doing to Dante. I caught the glimmer of uncertainty in Dante's eyes as he took a glance out of the corners of his eyes to see me. Rassimov went on his words torturing Dante, "You might hurt that Casterwill brat in a sparring round, burn that Lambert boy when trying to teach him how to draw on his energy, a touch on Miss Moon might... get out of control." Those words made Dante shudder slightly and I saw him wince. Thoughts came to mind and I knew exactly what Rassimov wanted Dante to think. "Who knows you might even enjoy it."

That comment made me want to snap back but Dante beat me to the outburst first.

"Shut up!" Dante shouted, "Shut the fuck up!"

Rassimov smirked, and I realized that all the man wanted was a reaction and Dante had given it to him. "You have no idea what is storing up within you, Dante. You have no idea what you can become."

"Dante," I whispered to him, practically at his ear. I was trying to calm him down and pull him from continuing to listen to Rassimov's honey tipped yet acerbic words. The man knew how to be persuasive and he was using the right words on Dante, attacking the right pressure points- his team. "Dante, don't listen to him."

"Zhalia is an Organization agent at heart, Vale. You know that, and yet you couldn't help but snatch her along with the rest of your team in the lab at Vienna." Rassimov continued as he took a step forward causing Dante and me to take a step back.

It seemed that nothing, not even the battle raging around us could interrupt.

"You two already have a bond that will improve if you two willingly come with me. Think of it, Dante, she will never leave your side again. Your abilities, combined will take this world to a new level."

He took a step forward and we took a step back. His gaze shifted to me, now.

"Zhalia, you aren't turning against us for those kids or for any of your former friends in the Foundation. You're too cold-hearted for that." He smiled, "You're throwing away your career for _him_. You belong with the Organization and if you want him, it's his choice to go with you, but you will never belong in Casterwill's world. No matter how hard you believe you can be. No matter how much you have changed."

His words now gripped me. Was I cold hearted as Lok has said earlier? Was I-

"Zhalia." Dante's whisper brought me back to reality and I caught his amber eyes take a look at me.

"Dante!" Montehue cried as he ran to us. He took all of us by surprise, especially Rassimov. He ran up to us with a Nimblefire spell and leaped into the air as he cried "Dragonfist!"

His punch landed on Rassimov, who had no time to defend or react. He was thrown into the air and dozens of yards away, but something, a dark web wrapped around Dante's torso.

"NO!! I screamed as he flew into the air and was thrown fifty feet into the air and came crashing down. He landed on his feet due to a Featherdrop, but the dark web was still around him and it started glowing. He struggled to free himself, but I knew that the web around the person was virtually indestructable.

I never knew that Rassimov had perfected this spell, and it was the most dangerous I had ever known. It was called a SoulWeb. It would drain the magic from the person, then rip it from their soul to leave them completely mortal without any powers. If the Web remained then lifeforce could be drained away as well.

I ran towards him using a hyperstride to accelerate my steps. Draining magic would painful. My spell wasn't fast enough. I wove through battles, dodged spells that were fired at me, and did my best to help any Huntik operative in need.

Rassimov was at the other end of the web and he regained his stance. "I tried to be gracious and kind, but I'm afraid I'm not a patient man."

I willed myself to go faster.

He muttered something in a different language and soon the battle came to a halt. I heard Dante's scream of agony tear through the air. _NO!_ My mind was racing as my concentration slipped along with the spell. I needed to help him and it was virtually impossible to sever the web through magic. I frantically looked around...and spotted the Professor's sword lying off a distance. Men were running for it, but I wasn't going to let them reach it.

"Nimblefire." I muttered and ran forward racing like fire as I picked up the sword, kicking a man in the face and slicing at the other Suit that came too near. Quickly, I changed direction to launch a speed spell.

Earlier, I had lifted a knife from the armory that we passed on the way down and had hid it in my boot. I slipped that out from its sheath and whispered, "Shadowspeed!"

I raced towards the web that connected Dante to Rassimov and sliced the dark connection, freeing Dante, who fell to his knees, disoriented and exhausted. Meanwhile, my move had thrown Rassimov off balance for a moment. The moment of distraction was all I needed. I flicked my wrist and threw the dagger, aiming for his heart. It flew straight and true but struck him right above the heart, though I think I would have missed anyways since Rassimov had no heart.

He turned to me with beady black eyes that burned a line of fire through me. "You will pay, Zhalia Moon!" he yelled that loud and with vindication that was so sincere it made me shudder. Somehow, I knew that vindication was going to come fast and that he wasn't going to stop it.

"Zhalia, look out!" It was Sophie that had yelled the warning.

I whirled around only to see Shauna land behind me with a black blade in her hand. I thought of a spell, Foreceblast, and extended my hand to blow her back just as she lunged forward. My spell, though I never voiced it aloud, came to life and sent Shauna flying back, soaring over the heads of Suits that were running towards us. But I didn't escape her lunge, she had been too close.

"ZHALIA!" It was Dante and Sophie.

I fell to my knees at took a deep breath.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw that the shield had been cast down and all Seekers for the Foundation were launching powers left and right dispersing the enemy and sending them to the forest that was bordering the street.

I saw Rassimov smile at me before taking off in flight, my dagger still embedded in his shoulder.

Sophie was firing double spells trying to clear her pathway...to me? I found that hard to believe.

I put my hands to the blade that had run me through. It was in my side and I couldn't pull it out, but I knew I was losing a lot of blood because I felt lightheaded.

I saw Caliban being summoned by Dante into the fight. I was surprised to see that he still had the power to summon a Titan after what had just happened to him. Rassimov had cast Dante in the web and it would have rendered him unable to cast any magic and summon any Titan for a while. Was his magical reserve and stamina a result of his month of going MIA.

I could barely hear the crashes of magic colliding as I collapsed to my side, my eyes were losing focus.

"Zhalia!" I heard his voice over me and soon felt his hands frame my face. "Stay with me!"

Was that a tear that I fell on my face? Yes, it was but it was from Sophie who was leaning over me with red eyes. I was glad that she could reach me, too. I wanted to tell her something.

"Zhalia, I'm so sorry." she whispered, "For not believing you were with us. I'm sorry-"

I shook my head as I reached over and took her hand. This was my last chance to say anything, I could feel it. "I'm sorry for what I've done. What I didn't do to save you and Lok- I'm sorry, Sophia, I really am-" I used her full name.

"You can call me Soph." she said as a sob broke through and she squeezed my hand though I don't think she meant to squeeze so hard. " I forgive you for what happened, Zhalia, I-" A sob broke through her lips and she couldn't say anything more.

Even now, her apologies and forgiveness meant something for me. It wasn't just words coming from a teenager.

Dante pulled the blade from my stomach, and I arched my back in pain and cried out.

"I'm sorry," he rasped as he placed his hands on my stomach putting as much pressure as he could. "I'm not going to let you die. I'm not!"

"Dante?!" Sophie asked as she turned frantic eyes towards him. She was scared- because of something... I didn't know what.

He whispered a spell that felt like it was sealing my wounds, as if it was keeping the blood within my body instead of spilling onto the earth.

"Dante," I whispered as I reached up and barely touched his face, my fingers ghosting across his face. My fingers slipped from the sweat that had covered his skin due to the battle. These words couldn't be said at a possible worse time, "I... I-" Was it in my vocabulary to say? _Yes. _I would say it, for him. "I love...you."

His amber eyes glimmered with something I couldn't recognize and I could see his lips almost curl into a smile, but again it was the worst time for a smile. Not as everything was raging around us.

Rassimov was right, I did betray the Organization for Dante. But as I looked to Sophie and remembered how I hated seeing her and Lok being used for experiments, I realized that Rassimov was wrong. Dante was a main reason, but those kids were nonetheless another. The fact that Sophie forgave me eased my conscience a bit and helped me reconcile with not doing anything to help.

I felt warmth pour from Dante's hands as his eyes locked with mine though I believed any healing was going to come too late.

"I'm not letting you go, Zhalia." he whispered to me, "I love you too much to do that."

He loved me. I smiled, relieved. At least I could die with those words. At least I could leave knowing that someone had forgiven me and that someone loved me. I didn't want to leave, but something was pulling me out of my body.

Boy, dying really sucked.

* * *

**_If you haven't realized by now, some key words at the end are the title of the chapter. In fact the last phrase is the chapter title. Well, please review. And there's let's just say more mature rated chapters coming up next, more Sophie and Lok moments, more POVs from Sophie and Lok, and a devastating secret revealed._**

**_Most likely POV next chapter: Possibly divided between Dante and Lok or Dante and Sophie. If not divided then it could be either one of the three._**

**_I love reviews, but I just love that you took time to read this. Though a five second review saying 'nice' couldn't hurt. XD_**

**_-Phoenix ~^~_**


	12. Chapter 11: You Are Worth It

_**So sorry for the long wait!! I was a bit busy but now that vacation's rolled around I've had some time and I wanted to update this. This is the first dual-POV chap and it features Dante and Sophie, also this kinda has a cliffhanger in the beginning. So don't get confused it's just a flashforward and the flash back to the present.**_

**_Well, enjoy._**

* * *

Chapter Eleven: You Are Worth It

_Dante_

_No!_ I screamed mentally, the pain flowing through my veins like liquid fire and I bit my lip to restrain from screaming out loud.

"Stop, please!" Zhalia begged, gaining the attention of Klaus who turned to her with ice cold eyes. I knew where she had learned the icy glare she threw when she was furious.

"Zhalia, I'd rather die-" I started when she cut in.

"And then what? Klaus is a man of his word." her eyes locked to her dark foster father before looking towards me. "You're no good to anyone dead."

"Zhalia." I entreated knowing full well what she was going to do. I couldn't lose her- I couldn't not after what had happened, what nearly happened, and-

"I'll make a deal, Klaus." Zhalia said, cutting through my thoughts.

"Of course, my dear." the elderly evil Seeker grinned evilly.

I shook my head and struggled, but the web that bound me only constricted holding me tighter. I could barely breathe.

"You free him, unharmed, and he gets to the Foundation unhurt and in one piece. I will go with you, back to Vienna." she said as she dropped down to her knee in submission, her eyes downcast and her hand on the earth.

"Not Vienna." Klaus hissed, "Prague."

I saw Zhalia's eyes widen as her head was bowed and we both knew what that meant.

"Klaus, take _me_ to him. You know what he'll do to her!" I yelled and I saw a glimmer of emotion in Klaus's eyes. "You look at her like you would your daughter. Please, don't send her to her death!"

"I already had." Klaus said looking to me. "The day I sent her to infiltrate the Huntik Foundation, I sent her to her death."

He really loathed me and I saw it as he summoned a Venomhand spell to his fingertips and approached me in a threatening manner.

"The Zhalia I looked to as my daughter died the day she saved you in front of the Organization's eyes." he shouted, enraged.

He was talking about the battle in the middle of the Foundation's safe area. _He was there?!_ I asked myself, running through my memories of that day but not remembering ever seeing him in the shadows of the trees where I knew Wind and that dragon were hiding or in the heavy frays that were attacking individual Seekers. It was impossible-

"Invisibility was something I've tampered with for the longest time." Klaus said, to ease my curiosity as he brought the deadly spell closer to my face. A touch of that long enough to the temple could render me comatose.

"I could have killed you earlier, but Zhalia stopped me." I replied, in a raised voice as I gestured to Zhalia who was watching wordlessly as we conversed as if she wasn't there. However, trepidation filled her eyes and I knew that nothing was getting through to her.

Klaus grabbed my neck and the spell, which was a poison, started weaving its way through me...slowly starting to kill me. I choked.

"You killed her. Her death's on your hands, not mine." he hissed before he let me go and I gasped for breath. I looked beyond him to see Zhalia staring at me with crestfallen, fearful eyes. The light brown were dull and tainted. Not bright and...

"Free him." Klaus spat at one of the Suits. The man willingly stripped the spell from me and I collapsed to the ground my muscles stinging from the constriction they endured. I took a moment to collect myself, to activate the borders of my mind from any mental attack, to prepare myself if I needed to defend myself.

I was about to spring on my feet, betray my word to Klaus, not caring if I died only thinking that I'd save her. But that dim voice that governed me a long time ago broke through, as if reinforced by something...or someone. _Keep your word and keep your head. Think, Dante Vale! You can't save her if you're dead!_ My voice of reason screamed at me, stilling my body.

I felt Zhalia, her presence striking the edge of my borders, her new skills making her more like a telepath than anything else. I let her in and let her aura warm me. If there was such thing as a tender mental kiss then that's what she gave me and I heard her voice, tired, faint, and weak: _Go, Dante. _

There was no 'I love you' because we both knew how cliché those words were and that us saying them was almost out of our characters. However, we knew how we felt for each other.

_Go._

I stood and glared at Klaus before turning a tender glance to Zhalia.

_Go._

"I will kill you." I swore, staring back at Klaus.

"No doubt you will, one day." Klaus replied as if he knew that I would be his death. "Now, leave, before I change my mind."

"Zhalia-" I whispered taking a step towards her but stopped as her voice in my head streamed, _GO!!_ I flinched, but all I had to do was say her name to send water to her eyes.

I turned my back and whispered, "Hyperstride." I was gone within a blink running through wreckage and ruin, praying to God that I get there and back to her before the Professor even saw her...or worse.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

**48 Hours Earlier**

I carried her through the shield as the battle tapered around us. Sophie was clearing our path. I yelled for Lady Alyssa to help Zhalia who was lying limp in my arms, her head leaning against my chest. I had sealed the wound at her chest, but that was not enough. She would die if she didn't get a healer's touch within the next handful of minutes.

"Come!" Lady Alyssa shouted as she gestured for me to follow her into the house.

I navigated the hallways, passages, and doors with ease, taking care not to get Zhalia hurt in the process as I rushed through the large manor. Lady Alyssa led me to one of the healing chambers in the very far corner of the house on the first floor.

I lay her on the bed and left her side to let Lady Alyssa tend to her. I could still hear the shouts outside and knew that they needed my help. The battle wasn't over, at least, not yet.

"Go!" Lady Alyssa said, when she turned back to me. "They need you out there, Dante. I will be fine with her in here."

I nodded to her, unable to summon any words to speak, before I ran outside and out of the shield. Cathy and Sandra, who were attending to a nearly faint Lok and several others along with Metz still remained in the shield, and when they saw me only one person's face was filled with fear.

"Dante!" Metz yelled as he saw it in my amber eyes. "Dante, don't!"

But it was too late. Revenge was burning deep within me and though I was able to control my emotions, whatever I was becoming was taking complete control of me.

Hunger. That was what Rassimov had called it. Well, it was deadly.

I lashed out with fire spells, the ones that came most easily to me whether they were dark or light, whether they within my power or were just a small amount out of reach. I summoned Caliban and Metagolem to help me along with a new Titan, a great dragon known as Titanus. Time meant nothing as I attacked, taking out high Suits as they thought to challenge me. I didn't care for those that ran into the forest or took off, only for those that dared to come after me. I looked for Shauna or maybe Wind to challenge them, but they didn't show. I finished off my challengers, breathing hard when I was done. I think I cracked one's neck in the process when he was trying to kill Sophie.

"Dante." Sophie called out, as if scared. No, she was scared. I could hear it in her voice.

I turned to her slightly and she gasped as she approached me. Her eyes locked with mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice dark and scratched.

"Dante, you're bleeding." she whispered as she reached up to my brow to trace a large gash above my eyebrow. But I ignored it, the pain wasn't enough to make me feel anything. I wiped the blood away. "And... your eyes."

I stared at her intently and I saw her flinch.

"Sophie?" I asked, gently. "What color are my eyes?"

"Black with an electric blue hue." she told me, when I felt exhaustion hit me full on. I couldn't answer her, or tell her who that reminded me of.

The cost of my anger, hunger, vengeance, and usage of power took its toll on me and I fell to my knees. The energy that I had used registered late and took whatever I had leaving me in pain.

"Dante?!" Kevin and Ian were by my side and helping me. Titanus, Caliban, and Metagolem disappeared into orbs of energy and disappeared into their respective amulet. Their thoughts coming to me through the Bond we shared.

_Dante? _Titanus asked, _Are you alright?_

_Don't waste your energy, Dante._ Caliban warned me.

_Be careful, Dante. _Metagolem cautioned.

I assured them all that I was alright, but doubt emanated from them. Kevin helped me to my feet and I leaned on him.

"C'mon, you're no used to anyone exhausted and beat." Kevin joked with a smile.

"Kev." I managed to get out. I felt faint. "Kev, I need to go see Zhalia."

"We don't need one more body for healing." Ian replied as he helped me on my other side.

"I don't need healing. I'm the one who's going to be healing." I replied.

"I'll go with Lok." Sophie said taking leave of us as she ran over to Lok, who was being helped to his feet by his mother and Cathy. His eyes were half closed and I knew that I shouldn't have told him about his ability, which I had seen him use. I hadn't taught him the skill to handle it and that was dangerous- damn my dangerous lapse of judgment!

"Should we be worrying about those two?" Kevin asked me, but I shook my head.

"They're teenagers." I answered. "What could they possibly-"

I stopped myself. "Ian, keep an eye on them."

"Oh, his mother will make sure of that." Ian said as the three of us looked towards the leaving group to see that Sandra followed Cathy, Lok, and Sophie intently.

"I need to see Zhalia." I reminded them as I staggered forward, but the two of them supporting me on either side held me where I was as Metz approached being wheeled by Lady Ess.

"Dante." he said warningly as he nodded to Kevin and Ian saying "Thank You".

"Oh, you backstabbers." I hissed at the two of them as the two left me to stand in front of my mentor, who usually I'd be glad to talk to, but not at the moment when all I could think of were light brown eyes, fair skin, and long locks of ocean blue hair...her pulse fading.

"Dante, you can't let go of yourself, especially out of revenge and anger." Metz reprimanded.

"I know that." I snapped when I realized that I was being rude to the man that practically raised me as his son. "I'm sorry, Metz. But I have to do something. Then you can berate me all you want."

I said it with a joke in my voice but there was no smile from Metz.

"Very well, do what you want, but I have to talk about something with you." he said as I walked past him only to freeze, the Professor's words haunting me. I turned to him, halfway.

"I need to talk to you as well. About the Professor...and me." I said, seeing the shock registering in his face before I walked away, following the path I had taken earlier when rushing with Zhalia through the manor. I navigated through people who were standing and others who were conversing with each other until I reached the room where Lady Alyssa was with Zhalia.

"Zhalia." I whispered as I walked up to the bed. She was completely pale, her eyes closed, her face ashen, her expression calm, and her lips taking on a bluish hue as if she were-

"Dead." Lady Alyssa said as she stood, turning to me with guilt. "I'm sorry, Dante."

"No." I muttered as I rushed forward and took Zhalia's cold hand trying to feel for an aura, as I let my powers explore her mind, something I learned to do on my own. But the faint sign of life was distant. "Zhalia, I told you, I won't let you go."

"Dante, don't!" I heard Sophie yell from a distance as she ran in, Lady Alyssa asked what would I do. It was then I heard Metz's objection, but it was too late.

I was pouring my energy into it. Into calling her back-

I immersed myself in her mind and let go of the world I was in.

_Everything was dark, abyss-like even though there was a faint light like a star in the distance. It was then that I realized it was a silhouette...of a woman._

_"Zhalia!" I yelled as I ran forward, though I felt as if I made no progress and that she was fleeing. "Zhalia! Please! It's me!"_

_I stopped running when the ghost turned to me and appeared right in front of me._

_"Dante." she whispered as she reached out as if to touch me, but her fingers went through my cheek. In horror, she looked at her fingers and then to me. "What-"_

_"You have to allow me to heal you, no matter what." I told her. "And you must remain here. I will call you back."_

_"Call me back?"_

_"You're dying." I whispered to her, surprised I was able to say it straight to her. For a moment, she was crestfallen. "But I will save you."_

_"What're you going to do?" she asked me, but I didn't answer._

_"Just tell me to heal you, please." I told her as I reached out to her, "I can't lose you, Zhalia. Please-"_

_"Heal me." she said._

I withdrew from her mind and placed my hand on her temple. My energy left her and flowed into her.

"No!" Sophie and Metz yelled as electricity in the form of orange bolts struck out from my fingertips. I heard Lady Alyssa gasp. I screamed as I felt something tear from within me, as if I was losing something. Little by little I tore myself apart feeling her come back to me. I felt her pulse and then her breath against my hand.

I wanted to say something but I couldn't my throat was too dry. I cried out mentally hoping she would hear . Her body was healed but her soul needed to return.

_Zhalia!_

It was my last thought as I collapsed, striking the floor hard.

"Dante?!" Sophie, Metz, and Lady Alyssa yelled right before I lost myself in the same abyss Zhalia had been in a moment before.

_Sophie_

Damnit! Goddamnit! Double damnit! I swore aloud and mentally garnering some strange expressions from those in the room.

I rushed to Dante's side as Kevin and Ian rushed into the hallways from wherever they had come from.

"The hell?" Ian asked as they crowded the doorway.

Lady Alyssa rushed to the bed and pressed her fingers against Zhalia's pulse. "I don't believe it."

"What?!" Kevin asked from the doorway from behind Metz who was between the door posts blocking anyone from entering or leaving.

"She's- she's alive!" Lady Alyssa exclaimed, "But how?"

"Among the dark powers is an extreme measure and form of healing." Metz explained solemnly as he looked at me. "Isn't that right, Miss Casterwill?"

"What has he done, Sophie?" Lady Alyssa asked, her eyes staring straight at me.

I hesitated before I answered, "It- It's a radical form of healing. You see, Casterwill believed that when death came- death came and there was no one to argue with that. However, the Nullifiers desired to bring back all of their fallen people and had specific people to do so. The process was so terrible that only the tradition survived and not the people themselves."

"Why?" Ian asked, looking at Dante though he was asking me. "What does it do to them?"

I heard commotion from the hallway and craned my neck to see that Montehue and Tersely were right behind the other two Seekers.

"What's going on now?" Montehue asked as he elevated himself to the balls of his feet to see over both Ian and Kevin and saw the scene. "Well, do something, lass! Heal him, do somethin'!"

"There is nothing we can do." Metz replied calmly. "Dante has done something that only he can reverse and fix. He is stuck within a construct his mind will build to make sure that he recuperate in power sense, in a mental sense, and in a physical sense. We can do nothing. He can only be woken by a powerful spell equal to whatever he performed."

I nodded in agreement as my hand brushed against his forehead. Something flashed in my mind and I cried out.

_The Professor. A blade. Zhalia. Death. Blood. Lok. Me. The Legendary Titans. _

"Sophie?" I head Lady Alyssa shout as I withdrew my hand, as if I had been burnt.

"I'm alright." I answered her as I touched my temple. "I just-"

"Had a vision?" Metz asked as he held out his hand. I gave it to him and stared into his calm, placid eyes. "The Casterwills especially the women have a strong sense of Sight, a precognitive ability that rarely is passed onto the males of the same family. Those of the Patronus line are affected the same way."

"Patronus." I muttered remembering the little history lesson that Dante had given us before we had arrived here.

"Sophie, what's wrong with Dante?" Tersely asked as Metz moved forward allowing for Ian, the larger between him and Kevin, to make his way through and lift Dante onto his shoulders.

"Put him upstairs in his room." Metz instructed as Ian left with Dante and everyone else turned their attention to me.

"The Nullifiers didn't care about the consequences of their actions, if their bodies were withering away or if their soul is fractured and their sense of being stretched." I said, "Casterwill had firmly disapproved of this method of healing but there are times in history where noble Seekers have used this method. It's neither good nor bad as it is a healing process but the effects it has are things that can't be taken lightly."

I looked back towards the unconscious Zhalia, who looked peaceful and was breathing. If she only knew what Dante had done for her and what he had done to both of them-

"The healing process affects both the healer and the healed." I said, my eyes meeting Metz as he was the only one that knew the process. "The healer gives up his soul, his life force, and drains himself of nearly all of his energy to save the person he is trying to heal, as this is only successful and worth it if it were some sort of fatal wound. A part of the healer then remains with the person he has healed. There is now a magical bond between the two. However, it works both ways."

"What?" Metz asked as he looked up at me with confused eyes. "Really? I had not known that."

"Known what?" Lady Alyssa asked, as did the others who stared at me with query gazes.

"The healed has to allow the healer to go on with the healing." I explained.

"Which means-" Kevin started.

"That Zhalia must have allowed Dante to heal her." Ian finished, the two of them like attuned twins.

"I doubt she knew about it!" I said, quick to her defense. I couldn't see Zhalia, who was ready to give her life up and herself up on the battlefield earlier. "She was ready to give her life-"

"I don't think she was aware of what he was asking her." Metz said, his hands up in a gesture that was telling me to calm down.

"What does that mean for me and Dante?" came a new voice to the conversation.

We all turned to the bed to see Zhalia trying to push herself upright. Lady Alyssa and I helped her up and she caught my arm. She looked better than she had when Dante had carried her off the front lawn earlier. The color had returned to her face and the only proof that she had nearly died moments ago was the blood stain on her shirt from the blade that had pierced her right below the ribcage nearly an hour ago.

"Sophie, what did he do?" she asked, worriedly, and I guessed she had heard parts of the conversation preceding.

I hesitated in answering, "He's bonded his soul to yours in order to save you. There's now a bond between the two of you."

"Bond?" she asked, as if nervous about it.

"I don't know how to explain this." I answered her honestly as she stared at me, hard. "But you and Dante are going to have to discover that on your own. Though I hear, it's kind of a telepathic bond."

"Where is he?" she asked as she made a gesture to move, but Lady Alyssa and I, sharing the same thought stopped her.

"You need to get some sleep. This healing process is going to do things to you both, and I think it's best to keep you two apart for now until we know what will happen." Metz said, saying in union the former sentence with Lady Alyssa and me.

"No, I need to-" Zhalia started as she moaned slightly and fell against the pillows as if she fainted.

"Zhalia?" I asked as I leaned close to her. "Can you hear me?"

"I need to talk to him, Soph. Please, just tell him-" she started when I interrupted her.

"He's out cold, Zhalia. He drained himself healing you." I said not bothering to explain the gravity of what he had done. "When he's awake I'll tell him you asked for him, okay?"

"Thank you, Sophie." Zhalia whispered as she closed her already fluttering, exhausted eyes.

When she was asleep, I turned to the others. Lady Alyssa was in a hushed conversation with Metz while Ian and Kevin looked in my direction.

"So what does this mean for the rest of us?" Ian asked aloud, voicing the question all of us wanted answered.

Suddenly, I gasped, feeling something cold washing over me. I fell to my knees holding my head in my hands as something rang through my head, ripping it apart, something terrible and large- a presence I had felt ripping from somewhere else, crossing a barrier that is to remain closed. I had felt the same presence the same night when-

"Dante." I gasped as I scrambled to my feet and pushed Kevin out of the doorway scrambling for the stairs.

I was rewarded with a sight that scared me. All Seekers on the floor were unconscious, lying on the ground as if hit by an explosion, one that had been aimed- for now- to only knock them unconscious. Echoes of footsteps followed me but I moved fast to the room at the end of hallway in specific.

I blasted the door down with a force blast because I knew it would be locked somehow. It was then that I saw him...the Professor, young as he was supposed to be. His hair was copper brown, tainted with red, his eyes were black with a golden hue, and he looked decades younger than when we had met him that night as a ghost. This time, however, he seemed real enough.

He was holding his hand outstretched in a vise grip as if he was holding something in the air. Meanwhile, on the bed, Dante was pale.

"Let him go!" I demanded in a scream as I threw the hottest bolt flare I could at him. It struck him in the shoulder but it did nothing but attract his attention.

"You will not stop me this time, Miss Casterwill." he snarled at me as he wrenched his hand back and Dante jerked.

"NO!" I screamed knowing why the Professor looked youthful and why Dante was getting deathly pale as the moments passed. "You'll kill him!"

"Kill him?" the Professor asked me incredulously as I heard Kevin and Ian rush in behind me. "I could never kill someone of my own flesh and blood."

He slipped down his left sleeve to reveal a mark that was so familiar. It was faint, as if it was a part of him for a such a long time was fading, like a bad memory.

"No." I muttered as Ian and Kevin started launching the most powerful spells they could think of without hesitation, their priority not information but safeguarding their friend.

The Professor was blown back at the impact of their spells with him, and disappeared in a mist of smoke in a yell of what I assumed to agony. There was nothing else I could do but run forward to Dante, my hand flying to his forehead.

"Dante?!" I shouted as I shook him by his shoulders. I could sense his soul and his pulse, he was alive- barely. "Dante?! Open your eyes if you can hear me!"

"I'll go get Metz." I heard Kevin say as Ian was at my side, his fingers against Dante's neck searching for a pulse.

"I can barely feel it." Ian stated as he looked at me, his eyes darting.

"His pulse is fading." I shouted, "We're losing him!"

"Get back!" Ian instructed as he slightly pushed me aside. I backed away accordingly and stood by to watch, feeling helpless even though now was when I was needed most. "Electrosis."

Orange bolts of lightning shot from Ian's fingertips and struck Dante in the chest. I exchanged a worried glance with Ian as Metz and Kevin entered the room with Montehue and Tersely close behind them.

I saw something that made my heart calm. Dante's chest rose and fell with deep breaths.

"What happened?" Metz asked distracting Ian and me as we turned to him.

"The Professor was attacking Dante while he was unconscious." Kevin answered but I interrupted him.

"Attacking isn't the right word." I said as Ian agreed saying, "I think the Professor was sapping Dante's life force in order to cross from the spirit world into this plane. And he's succeeded but I don't understand how he was able to do that."

"Why?" Montehue asked having been the one to help Metz up the stairs with a hover spell, "The Professor's a powerful Seeker he would have been able to take the life force from any one of us."

"Not true." I inputted, "You see, you can only take the life force of someone you have a-" I paused as I turned to Dante before finishing by saying, "Blood relation to. The Professor said something."

"That he couldn't hurt his own flesh and blood." Ian finished meeting my gaze when I turned to him, "You don't think-"

"No, it's impossible." Kevin, Tersely, and Montehue caught on. However, the reassurance wasn't given by Metz, the one who had raised Dante from a young age.

All of us turned part horrified, part surprised, and part disbelieving looks at the elderly Seeker.

"Tell us that we're wrong." I said, "Tell us-"

"The truth." Dante struggled to say and we all turned to see he had staggered out of bed and was leaning on the bedside counter for support. It wasn't a surprise he was weak, but it was a surprise that he was even awake at all. "I heard everything. Whatever the Professor did, he had me in some sort of limbo. Metz- He called me his flesh and blood. Tell me that he's delusional."

I looked away for a moment when I caught sight of the Patronus mark on his shoulder. Suddenly, the mark brought an image to my mind... it was the same mark as the one on the Professor's inner wrist. I gasped, gaining Dante's attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked me as I reached out and touched the back of his shoulder, outlining the mark and meeting Metz's sad gaze.

"How?" I asked.

Dante turned from me to Metz, his head whipping to his mentor, his amber eyes wide and disbelieving.

"Simon is a changed man, not the man I knew twenty five years ago. You were four at the time when the mission with Araknos occurred." Metz confessed as he met his charge's eyes, "Your mother died in a car crash, that was the only truth I told you. Your father died the day he was cursed."

"So... My father is Simon Judeau." Dante choked out, in horror as everyone's eyes widened.

Tersely looked as if he'd faint. Montehue looked more confused than angry. Kevin and Ian were both in shock and I- well, I was just part surprised and for some reason horrified.

Dante made his way to the window and leaned against the wall, staring out at nothing in particular.

"This doesn't change anything!" I yelled, supported by a chorus of agreement. "You are still Dante Vale, the Huntik Foundation's lead Seeker."

"And soon to be leader of the Foundation." Metz added, adding some news that didn't shock any at all.

"But I am the son of the Foundation's most powerful enemy to date and I'm turning into him." Dante countered as he flexed his fingers and looked at his hand as if there was a distinguishing mark there that said he was evil or showing the fact that he had used dark magic.

"Dante-" I started when Lady Alyssa ran into the room out of breath right behind... Lok.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at Lok, reprimanding him, knowing that he should be resting. He looked exhausted, but he still stood tall. "You should be resting!"

"Dante, something's happening to me." he gasped as he lifted his hands towards us and held them so that his palms faced all of us.

It seemed to take all of our minds off the latest revelation as we stared at him.

"What the hell?" Kevin asked.

Dante was the only one to walk forward. "What have you done?!"

"I just thought of a spell, the one you were using to fight off the Suits. I just thought of it, I never thought I'd use it." Lok said, sounding like a child trying to claim an obvious innocence.

"It took a while to put out the fire." Lady Alyssa said, the evidence of a fire evident from the scent of smoke and the black marks of soot on the clothes of the both of them.

"Couldn't this be a more interesting day?!" Tersely exclaimed taking all of us off guard, "Dante heals a nearly dead Zhalia, draining himself in the process. The Professor drains him of life force and we find out Dante's his son!"

"What?!" Lady Alyssa and Lok asked.

"There's a floor of unconscious Seekers outside the door and the first floor's a scorched battlefield." Tersely went on as if nothing happened, "And we've got bodies to worry about."

"Okay, I vote there be a psych test for everyone who's just been fighting." Kevin muttered to Montehue, right in my earshot. But I ignored them and held Dante's arm.

"What's going on?" I asked as Metz wheeled closer to us.

"Lok is a Thoughtspeaker." he said as he traced the mark on Lok's palm. I gasped as I turned to meet Lok's inquiring blue gaze. "And he's just used a Nullifier attack spell."

The wind left my lungs as if I had been punched in the gut or blasted by a force blast. My head spun and I was dizzy. This was disastrous- no, tragic.

"What?!" Metz asked as he turned to Lok, who was lost in the conversation still focused on another point.

"You're the Professor's son?!" he asked Dante, incredulously.

"That's not a problem here!" I shouted as I took Lok's hand in mine and stared deep into his eyes, worried and alarmed, "You've used a Nullifier spell."

"What does that mean?" he asked me.

The world seemed to melt away. There was no one but Lok and me, but it was not one of those romantic moments. I tuned everyone out and tried to focus- wondering how cops and federal agents, other organizations had to deal with telling someone or telling a loved one about death. My mind settled and I felt as if I was going to cry.

"You're turning into a Nullifier." I whispered.

"What?!" He shook his head. "No, I didn't-"

"You've used a spell, Lok. It only needs one dark spell to put you on the path." Dante interjected, morosely. His voice was dark, deep and gravely serious more than usual.

"My days are numbered, aren't they?" Lok inquired as his hands tightened on mine. I could see his mood darken. It was in his eyes.

"As a Huntik Seeker?" Dante answered, the only one who could sympathize with him, "Yes, they are."

I shook my head. This couldn't be happening. We were already losing Dante to the curse of the Nullifier spells, Zhalia was a target of the Organization and causing the Foundation Seekers to flare with argument, and now Lok was another victim of the curse. _This can't be_.

"So, which problem are we gonna deal with first?" Kevin asked, when silence had descended on us for a couple of minutes.

No one replied for a minute until Dante answered.

"Lok, you go get some rest. Sophie, stay with him and make sure he stays in bed. Kevin, I want you and Ian to go and get Michael to do some psych evaluations on the Seekers who have been fighting, and make sure he sees you two first." If he weren't so serious, there would have been some laughs. "Reason being, I want you two to get some rest so you can be scouts for tonight. Lady Alyssa, please, heal those you can. Montehue, I want you and Tersely to set up a secure perimeter and take Annabelle and Jenna, they weren't fighting earlier so you have fresh energies to help you. Tersely, also check the vehicles and make sure they haven't been tampered with. I'll be with Zhalia."

No one hesitated once he was finished. I didn't stick around to be with Dante when he started talking with Metz. I instead took Lok and led him back to the room where he had been assigned to. His mother was there and so was his sister and once we entered, they smothered him with embraces. I was about to leave, when I felt someone grab my wrist.

"Mom, Cathy, you guys can go get some sleep." Lok said to them, hiding the palms of his hands from them. "Sophie is with me."

I saw Sandra about to protest when Cathy pushed her out the door.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, kiddo." said Cathy as the two women disappeared beyond the door and Cathy shut it behind her, leaving Lok and me alone in the room.

"Did you want anything?" I asked him awkwardly with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Yeah," he whispered solemnly, the smile replaced by a look of composure that I'm sure he had picked up from all the serious times we had been through together plus all the time we had spent with Dante.

"Well?" I asked him. "What do you want?"

"The rest of my time with you." he answered.

I felt my heart skip a beat and felt it race against my chest. He was suddenly a little out there, but I figured it was because he knew he wouldn't be himself within a few months. I was right.

"I have, what, a couple of months left?" he asked rhetorically. "And we might not even live through this fight against the Professor and Rassimov and whoever else." He paused and took my hands. I was speechless, for once. "I don't want to spend whatever time I have left worrying about anything life-threatening. I just want to be with you."

"Lok." I whispered, just a moment before his lips met mine.

I felt his arms encircle me a moment later and I ran a hand through his hair as I kissed him back, the other hand framing his face as I felt his hand move from my back to my face. I could feel the water spill from my eyes as realization struck me, halfway into the kiss and he drew back to thumb away my tears.

"Don't cry for me, Soph." he whispered with a sad smile. "I'm not worth your tears."

"Yes," I corrected him, taking him off guard for a moment. "Yes, you are."

My words were cut off by a kiss but I couldn't care.

_You are worth it._

* * *

_**Poor Lok. Well, this is just getting more desperate for the Huntik team and everyone's involved.**_

**_-Phoenix ~^~_**


	13. Chapter 12: My Girlfriend and His Sister

_**I am so sorry, but I have been busy these past two months with AP tests and now studying for the Regents. I was able to write this on my spare time and I just did this to satisfy all the reviewers who took the time to review and ask for an update. Sorry for the long delay. I tried, but I was too busy.**_

**_I will be pulling off more dual POV chapters to get the story moving and in order for you not to get confused I will put an explanation here in caps:_**

**_THIS TAKES PLACE IN THE FUTURE FROM LOK'S POV._**

**_Meaning that I still have to jump back in time two days to the events of the night after we find out that Lok is going Nullfier, Dante and Zhalia are connected now through a mental bond, and that the Professor is Dante's father._**

* * *

Chapter Twelve: My Girlfriend and His Sister

_Lok_

Dante comes back and he's paler than usual. He's losing his battle and his time is running up. I can sympathize with him and as he slams the door shut to his SUV I realize that no one else had left the car.

_Where's Zhalia?_ I asked mentally and not out loud as the others haven't even heard the car pull into the driveway.

I stare at the door and wait. Soon enough he flies through the door and runs up the stairs without a word. Everyone froze and remained silent after the door shut- obviously in shock and surprised not knowing what was going on.

I caught Sophie's gaze from across the room and simultaneously we headed for the stairs. We had obviously shared the same thought with Kevin who was already taking the steps two at a time up. We found Dante in Metz's room sitting besides the ailing leader- who was also losing his battle. He was going to die and there was nothing Dante and the rest of us could do.

"They have her and they're bringing her to the Professor." Dante said gravely, his voice filled with panic and worry. He paced not even noticing that Kevin, Sophie, and I were at the doorway and were listening to every word. "I can't let that happen. He'll take her mind- he'll do whatever he wants- and he'll-"

We all knew what he would do. Dante didn't need to say anything more.

"Metz, I'm not asking for your blessing," Dante said, cutting off anything that the leader of the Huntik council could say. "I'm going to save her and I'm not coming back. You need to choose a new successor. I'm sorry, Metz. But I can't leave her there."

Metz did something that we never expected, he actually cried. A tear slid down his cheek as he extended his hand towards the man he had always looked at as a son. "Dante, I would never ask you to give up the woman you love. However, it is not for me to choose a successor. You are my successor and it is up to you to choose yours-"

"Metz," Dante muttered as Sophie gasped and held her head.

Kevin turned to her worriedly as I approached her and took her into my arms. My sixth sense told me she was going to collapse soon- from whatever vision she was having.

"Sophie." I whispered tenderly as Dante and Metz continued to talk. I met Kevin's gaze and he looked as if he wanted to join his friend and his mentor, and was asking with his eyes if I needed help. I nodded to him, a gesture meaning that I was fine and he left joining the conversation. "Sophie, what's wrong?"

"He's dying, Lok." she whispered to me, her eyes glazed and distant. "His light is fading. I can feel it. He's getting weaker-"

"Who?" I asked her, looking at Dante and-

"Metz." Sophie answered me as I saw it with my own eyes. The man was paler than he was a couple of hours ago. His shoulders were slack and he wasn't holding his usually straight posture. In fact, he looked as if he would faint at any moment.

"Dante," I said to warn him as Dante took the man's hand and said something low that was just out of ear shot for me. Metz returned a reply in the same low whisper.

I watched, helplessly. There was nothing I could do.

A minute passed and the man whom everyone looked up to as a leader leaned his head back and exhaled peacefully. There was no more pain for him and... no more life. There was an eerie green glow that emanated from marks on Metz's skin, which had been side effects of the curse. It glowed and then disappeared leaving unmarred skin and the leader looking younger by decades.

"He's free now." Kevin said his voice low as Dante released the man's head reluctantly.

Dante nodded, his mouth a grim line and his eyes looking at war. I could tell he wanted to cry, the man that had raised him had died and now he was the leader of a whole crumbling Foundation.

"What do we do now?" I asked as Dante stood and walked towards Sophie and me.

" 'We' do nothing." he answered me as he looked between Sophie, who was able to stand up straight now that her vision had passed, and me, and then put a hand on our shoulders. "I'm going to get Zhalia back-"

"And we're going with you." I inserted as I placed my hand over his. "You can't do this alone, stop thinking you can."

His amber eyes turned to me and a smile touched his lips.

"Where are we headed?" Sophie asked as she in turn placed her hand over Dante's.

He shook his head. "I should be saying, 'No'-"

"But you won't." Kevin inputted with a sly smile as he clapped Dante on the back. "I'm with you, and once Ian gets back he'll sure as hell join us."

"Pack lightly." Dante told Candice and me as he nodded.

The two of us turned around and walked away but as soon as we turned the hallway, I pressed myself flat against the wall and waited. Sophie turned around and was about to give me away by asking me what I was doing- well at least I was sure she was going to do that so I reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her against me. The hallway might as well have been only wide enough to fit two people by the way she was pressed against me, but I didn't care. I guess I was being a stereotypical teenage boy at the moment.

I heard the door to Metz's room close and the two of them talking.

"You okay, Dante?" I heard Kevin ask, their voices far but still audible.

They had stopped and I heard someone slam their back against the wall and slump down, hitting the floor with a mild thud.

"I'm losing it, Max. I can't hang on for very much longer." Dante answered him, his voice sounding weak.

"You can hang in there-" Kevin started but was cut off.

"No! No, I can't anymore." Dante sounded as if he was giving up, "I can't. I really can't-"

Sophie was about to go into an outburst but I signaled her to stay quiet so we could hear.

"Lately, I can't summon a spell for very long. A shield is hard to put up. The only thing that comes easily are those spells that sap my strength and take it fast." Dante said, "I'm not coming out of this one, Kev, and I need you to look after Lok."

"He's going Null on us isn't he?" Kevin asked.

"There's a way to lift the curse." Dante answered him.

My heart pounded and Sophie's eyes widened.

"Casterwill knew that drastic measures might need to be taken in the future and the only way is to resort to a Nullifier spell or a Thoughtspeaker might accidently invoke a spell they heard-" Dante explained, "Anyways, he made a fail-safe so that Seekers could easily get out of it."

"Easily?" Kevin sounded, dubious.

Dante scoffed. "The texts say simple because it was easy to find someone back then who could fit the description."

"And that is-?" Kevin prompted.

"All myths are true especially the part about priestesses and virginity, closeness to purity the easier it is to take away the evil. Not that I'm complaining about nowadays."

Kevin scoffed, "Believe me, no one wants to go back to yesteryear." He shook his head, "I can't believe you're saying this, but are you telling me that a virgin is going to lift a spell."

"Casterwill made it so that his family could lift the curse. A pure member of his family could do a purification spell on the cursed, but the spell can only be used once."

"Why? It's not like the girl's got to sleep with him."

I realized now that they were talking about Sophie and me. The two of us exchanged wondering glances.

"No, but think about it, no exposure to dark magic and suddenly you have to purify the curse of another, by what? Sophie has control over something called the Casterwill fire, it's a white magic that she can invoke only when she needs to. It takes a lot of concentration, but since you and Santiago are the masters at concentration and patience you two could help her hone the skill. The fire will destroy the curse but her magic will be exposed to the Nullifier magic. Thus-"

"Her 'purity' is tainted." Kevin finished, "God, sometimes this magic stuff gets really complicated."

"Yeah, " Dante sounded very tired now, beat, "I want Lok to be my successor. You don't have a problem with that do you?"

Kevin once again scoffed, "Me? No! I love that kid. He's like you, you know."

"So I've heard."

"He'll be exactly like you. I can see it now."

"Hopefully, he'll live longer." Of course, leave it to Dante to dampen the moment with a little pessimistic attitude, Lok thought to himself realizing his mentor was getting more and more bleak as the days had gone on. "I've got two days at best most likely less."

"So, you'll save Zhalia and then go and die? Is that your plan?" Kevin yelled, "What about her? You're gonna leave her-"

"I don't want to!" Dante yelled back.

I wondered if anyone could hear them, but judging by the lack of people coming up the stairs, I doubted it.

"Jesus Christ, all I want to do is just stay with her! But I'm turning into everyone's worst nightmare- and not even she can save me."

I leaned my head back against the wall. Yes, I had secretly hoped that Zhalia could somehow turn around her amazing powers that she had gained and save him. She had saved us all yesterday, and we had hoped-

"She's not the powerful and I would never ask her to join me. She has the rest of her life to live." Dante said. "Just promise me one thing, Kev. If I don't make it out of there, tell her I loved her."

"God, you and the L-word. You could never bring yourself to say it and mean it could you?" Kevin asked.

"Shut it." Dante said half playfully, "Just tell her, please."

"C'mon, Soph." I whispered to her as we headed down the hall and disappeared into our room. Yes, our room. Though my mother had opposed, Dante had said he trusted me and the most I did to Sophie was kiss her. I didn't touch her or attempt to.

Besides, I didn't want Santiago to cut off something while I was asleep. He's been sharpening his shurikens lately and it had been starting to creep me out especially when he looked at me and began to sharpen them even more precisely. I knew it was an unspoken threat, but it was unneeded. Sophie would hurt me far worse than Santiago could and I would never hurt or offend her.

Sophie and I packed silently and out of nowhere I reached out and took her hand. She was surprised and turned to me with worried eyes as if reading my mind. In all honesty, I swore that maybe she could be since her psychic abilities has evolved, but a part of me told me that just how I could never lay a finger on her without her permission, she would never read my mind without mine.

"I want you to lift the curse from Dante." I told her.

She stared at me with a horror in her eyes and shook her head. "But-"

"The Foundation needs him more than they need a kid like me." I continued.

She didn't argue but she didn't say yes to my request either.

"I'm not going to let you die." she whispered tenderly as tears came to her eyes.

"You can't let Dante die either."

"Don't ask me to do this." she said, "Why can't I be selfish this one time? Please, Lok-"

I shook my head and cupped her face. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you can't be selfish especially this time." I replied. "Save him."

"I can't hone the power in two days to save him." she said, "I don't even know how to summon it."

"You've done it before. I've seen you."

"But that was to save you!"

"Are you really saying that you're going to let Dante die?"

"I can't let you die!"

I realized the demand I was making of her. To sacrifice family or...me. If I had a choice either to save Cathy or Sophie, I would be torn, too. She sobbed and I apologized to her repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, Soph. I don't know what I was doing. I'm sorry." I said, "Soph, I'm sorry."

"I know what you want but I can't let you die, Lok. I can't." she said, "Dante wants you to be saved. Would you deny him what _he_ wants?"

Was it too late to save Dante? I didn't know. All I knew was, that I didn't want to die and I didn't want Dante to die, but there was only one person that could save a cursed Seeker from the fate we shared. And she was my girlfriend and his sister.

* * *

**_All will be revealed soon! I have REGENTS and Finals but hopefully I will got the second half to this chapter though it will be a new chapter updated. I did this for all my faithful reviewers and if any of you read To Trust or Betray well, that story is going to have to wait until the summer because I can only write for one fandom and keep myself motivted for so long._**

**__****Also again, this takes place just after Dante let Zhalia go in the previous chapter. I will be jumping back and forth between the past and present in order to get this story going.**

**__****_- Phoenix ~^~_**

**_Please, review. xD_**


	14. Chapter 13: Invention and Ingenuity

_**Yay, Summer's here for me at least all my worries are over concerning grades and stuff. Got all my results back and pleased with all of them except my AP grades. Well, I'm sorry for the long wait, but I got writer's block and I hope this disappoint some of you. Anyways:**_

**__****THIS IS FROM DANTE'S POV THE SAME DAY THAT HE FINDS OUT THAT HE'S THE PROFESSOR'S SON.**

**__****So, I wanted to bring Dante's POV back. It's interesting when writing from his perspective and I realize that I need to take more of a darker, serious view on his emotions.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Invention and Ingenuity

_Dante_

A conscious and a sense of duty is something you should always listen to and follow. It will keep your head on the task and your emotions out of the problem while morally guiding you. However, I had given up those two things the day I defied everyone and broke the rules. Desperation is the mother of chaos or invention and ingenuity.

But in my case it was chaos. I should have told Lok what he was and from what family he came from, what exact ability he had, and that even thinking of a spell or even using it, casts it. It takes a strong control and highly focused concentration to cast with a thought. Even an ordinary Seeker could achieve such a skill, but it came through much training and concentration. Though Lok had picked up the concentration necessary, the training on the other hand was something that he had gone without. If I didn't know better, his time as a captive has roughed him up and made him a little more rebellious and independent, qualities I admire, but which aren't good for a Thoughtspeaker without training.

Now, the kid was going down the same path as me. And there was nothing I could do to stop it, only watch as he fell.

There was also the fact that I was the son of the Foundation's most twisted enemy so far that betrayed everyone he held dear- It unnerved me how I realized what I was becoming...my own worst nightmare. I tried blocking this thought from returning to me but it wouldn't stop haunting me. I was the son of Simon Judeau and like him I was slowly falling into the darkness inside me. How soon would I lose myself and turn into him? It was a truth that was giving me nightmares and preventing me from a quiet moment of serenity- awake or asleep.

Now, to add to my complicated life, I'm bonded to a woman I've fallen in love with. It's useless trying to tell myself and others differently, but my life is too complex and it's presently falling apart- I can't bring Zhalia down with me-But I had to save her, I couldn't lose her.

They all- the Seekers- know what I've done and I've gotten a lot of reprimands- or really what were supposed to sound like reprimands until they reasoned out my side as they started talking to themselves stating what they plainly knew, about my obvious feelings, my dedication, and my recent desperation to save _everyone_ (that last bit had been stressed by Ian)- and in the end all they did was worry about me, tell me to watch myself, and to not get myself killed- and honestly, it was annoying.

It had only took an hour before I made a full recovery and soon, I was walking through the manor checking on everything and everyone, making sure that security measures were taking place, and ensuring that we still had Seekers willing to fight.

I made it past the infirmary after checking up on the Seekers wounded in the battle and after getting the reports I left. Michael and his co-worker Allison were conducting psych evaluations on those who had just been in the recent battle, seeing if they were good enough for another fight without cracking. Kevin and Ian had cleared and were with Montehue, Tersely, Annabella, and Jenna, who had gone to set up a perimeter. For tonight, Kevin and Ian the strongest out of us in the aftermath would be scouts and I would switch with them in the middle of the night so they could get some much needed rest.

Unlike the others, I knew what this battle had been. Not a battle to attack but a battle to study us, our methods, and attempt what they thought was a rescue mission. However, I was surprised Klaus wasn't present to participate in the rescuing of his charge- something I was sure he would have done. The attack led by Rassimov himself was more of a surprise than any, and I wasn't fully prepared which led to that painful little confrontation.

I made it down to the primary level and walked past the stairs in the main foyer. I walked down a familiar hallway and stopped just outside the door. I was going to knock but a thought suddenly creeped into my mind.

_What if she doesn't want to talk to you? Sophie, must have explained what you've done. She-_

The thought didn't finish daunting me before the door opened and I found myself staring into light brown eyes…furious eyes.

_Oh, shit._

Her eyes narrowed even further.

"Uh-" I started unable to work with words for a moment, but her anger beat me to any explanation and I felt a crack against my cheek. I have to admit she gave me the hardest slap I'd ever received in my life. My ears actually rung from the impact. "Okay, I deserved that one."

She answered with a fake smile that she forced on her expression that clearly said- 'Of course you did.' I watched as her shoulder tensed, she was going to slap me again. I waited and just as she was about to slap me, I stopped her, catching her arm before she could land the blow.

"Now, I don't know what the second one's for." I said.

Her glare deepened and I realized that she was pissed. She was fully awake and was fully aware of what I had done- and she was- well, … pissed.

"Draining your energy so that you were practically dead?" she screamed at me. "What the hell were you thinking?"

I knew this would be attracting unwanted attention so I walked into her room, releasing her arm and closed the door behind me.

_I really wasn't thinking. It was instinct._ I thought to myself.

I turned around to answer her when she slapped me again.

"Ow." I simply said as I covered my stinging cheek and moved my jaw. Was it me or was she hitting me harder than before? "Look, I had no other choice!"

"You could have just let me die." she shouted.

I stared at her incredulously.

"Are you crazy?" I yelled at her, "Do you hear yourself? Let you die?"

My rage was hitting a level and it was harder for me to control it. Let her die? No. Never! Earlier today, I had told her- spilled my feelings out as she was dying in my arms. I loved her. It was what motivated me to do what I had done to heal her…to bring her back- to me.

It was love.

Something snapped in my mind and the pieces fell together before me. She wasn't mad at me because of what I had done specifically (the life draining healing)- she was angry at me because I loved her and had done it to save my life thus endangering mine in the process. She was mad not at me, but at…herself?

I shook my head for a moment, the detective within me had deduced all of that. But it didn't make sense as I ran through it in my head. I- It doesn't make sense. Angry at herself? Why?

I looked into her eyes and I saw her look away guiltily, her eyes glistening half ready to cry.

I've been an idiot- a forgetful, blundering idiot.

She loved me, too. She didn't want anything happening to me just as much as I didn't want anything happening to her and she was angry that I had done it all for her. She was angry that I was weak because of her.

_Oh, Zhalia, it's not your fault. _I thought as I wrapped my arms around her and comforted her.

"I would choose to save you over myself any time." I whispered to her. "You know why."

"I know." she answered in the same whispered volume, "But- but why can't you just leave me to them? I chose to save you from them. Whatever happened to me, was meant to happen because of my actions. I'm a traitor now in the Organization's eyes, Dante."

I would have given anything to read her mind at the moment, because she thought something that was making her depressed, an emotion I picked up on with my extra sense of empathy something I had honed due to overuse of emotion related spells.

"I'm sorry." I apologized as she looked up at me. I saw her side of things now and she knew. "But you know I can't let you die. You can ask anything of me, but that."

I just held her in my arms unwilling to let her go.

"You have to let me go, if you can't do anything about it." she whispered. "My life isn't worth it when you put your own in danger. Don't make yourself vulnerable again and make yourself regret everything when you wake up."

I met her gaze about to ask why she thought that when something came to mind- Was she blaming herself for my near death encounter with the Professor?

It wasn't a question I had asked the question aloud.

"You would've been able to fight him. I know you're angry at yourself for allowing the Professor a chance to drain you and cross over to this plane." she said. She was leaving out something very, very important.

That's true. I was angry that I had been too weak to prevent the Professor from sucking my life force and enabling himself to cross from the spirit plane into the real plane. But it was only a thought-

"This bond we have-" I started, "It's telepathic and you've been practicing, haven't you?" I asked her though the former part was more of a statement than a question.

I had read of the effects of the healing spell in an old tome and there had been some mention of a bond but I thought it was emotional not magical. Was I getting stupider when it came to obvious things?

She laughed.

"Okay, can you leave me with a little privacy?" I asked her with a laugh.

"It's not me, your mind is just open. There're no barriers." she answered as she turned to me and placed her hands on both of my temples.

I was about to tell her that since my life force was drained, so were my powers and that for the next several hours I was left without any magical aid in a battle. Instead, I asked-

"What're you-" I started.

"Ssh." she whispered and closed her eyes.

I felt the barriers that had fallen earlier lift and surround my thoughts protecting them once more. The shield I had erected a long time ago to protect me mentally and serve as a preliminary self-defense mechanism was brought back up. All of my mind's safeguards were restored.

She was…healing me.

"Zhalia," I was intending to stop her, but she silenced me with her lips, her arms now around me and holding me against her.

The healing was done. I wondered how she had learned to do that but at the moment, it wasn't a question that came directly to mind.

I fell against her bed and I pulled her on top of me.

She was the only one who could make me forget about it all. An argument. A fight. A responsibility. A disagreement.

She drew back and straddled me, looking down with a smile on her face. "You just recovered from your life force being drained. You're in no condition to-"

I stopped her mid-sentence pulling her down to me and rolling us over so that she lay beneath me.

"Let me decide that." I whispered to her as I pressed my lips to hers gently.

She whispered my name as my hand caressed her delicate curves. She moaned as my hands roamed and explored her. She mouthed an 'Oh' when I jerked my hand and-

There was a pounding on our door. I stopped immediately and drew back. The two of us were on our feet and rushing to the door immediately. Zhalia reached it before me and threw open the door.

Sophie stood before us with tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Zhalia asked.

"It's Lok." she whispered and gasped for air. She was half-sobbing and hiccupping. I'd never seen her like this ever.

I heard something that sounded like a roar from above us. From Lok's room…

Zhalia knew what I was thinking somehow and pulled Sophie aside as I rushed past her and up the stairs to the second level.

I ran down the hallways to where Seekers were congregating and yelled for them to move, "Out of my way!"

They listened and conceded forming a pathway for me to storm through. I crashed into the room to see that Evan and Castiel had pinned Lok down and he was roaring like a lion. In fact, it was a side-effect of the descent to a Nullifier, the uncontrollable rage that manifested itself into a creature like form.

"Cas, Evan, if you don't let him go, he will kill you." I said smoothly.

They looked at the purple eyed, pale teenager then at me and I extended my hand forward. I mentally cast a paralysis spell that caught Lok and allowed for Evan and Cas to back away safely. I nodded to them as they retreated behind me.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Castiel asked me as he maneuvered around me.

"He's Descending." I answered him as the paralysis wore off and Lok jumped into the ground, his hands now glowing like claws. His skin deathly pale and his lips blue as if he were dead. His eyes were purple and his hair was mussed as if it had been run under an electric current making them stand spiked. "Lok?" I asked.

I heard a sob break from Sophie behind me and heard Zhalia's voice call out to me to be careful.

"Lok, control it. I know you're in there." I said to him in a calm voice as he continued to stare at me. Suddenly, he growled and snapped, his voice most definitely not human. This was not good. I needed to knock out his feral side in order to get to his human side. This hadn't happened to me, but then again, I wasn't a teenager with only a summer's worth of training.

"Electrosis." I whispered as I shot an electric ball at him, but he dodged it leaving a gaping hole behind him.

He uttered a dark spell that sent dark fire heading towards the Seekers at the door ready to jump to my help.

"No!" I cried as I jumped in front of them and cast a shield up. A dark spell could only be blocked by either a dark shield or a Casterwill shield, and Sophie wasn't in the mood to concentrate having seen her boyfriend half dead and attacking people.

I realized that I needed to take this outdoors. "Hyperstride!" I cried and ran up to him tackling him and running him out through the hole landing with him on the ground below with a 'Featherdrop' he had summoned himself.

He threw me off him and got to his feet. This Lok was feral and out of control. I never thought I'd ever have to fight a corrupted Lok- but then again when did anything ever turn out according to what you expected.

Desperation was most definitely the mother of chaos…or in my case right now, invention and ingenuity.

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_**Sorry to leave you hanging! Anyways, this fic will hopefully be updated while I'm on vacation in Europe. I've got a sketch for the next chapter and I can't make any promises.**_

**_This is actually deviating from my original plan that I had from this story, but expect a battle between family and love in the next chapter or soon for that matter. Well, just warning ya! Hope this wasn't a letdown and if you have any ideas, feel free to voice them and I'll consider adding them at some point within the story._**

**_-Phoenix ~^~_**


	15. Ch 14: Wished I Never Was a Double Agent

_**Finally wrote this. I guess I wanted it to be longer so it took a day more. So, here ya go.**_

**_Oh and thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the reason why this is still going!_**

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Chapter Fourteen: Wished I Never Was A Double Agent

_Dante_

If there's something you must know about a Seeker when they Descend, it's that well- we're the inspiration for vampires. Hey, it's crazy, I know, but if you think about it, everything we hunt and search and seek out for has its basis in mythology, and mythology was always related to Seeker activity. The Hammer of the Thunder God was actually the chosen weapon of a Seeker who was so powerful when outfitted with the weapon that people mistook him for one of the Norse gods. Gargoyles are water creature and yet, Cherit resembles them and he came long before the gargoyles existed. See? Seeker-related. (Speaking of Cherit, if you're wondering where he is, he's at my house. He kind of serves as a house sitter and he's the only one who knows how to operate my defense controls without killing anyone.)

Anyways, back to what I had mentioned earlier about the vampires- I'll explain why. You see, we kind of become a little light sensitive as we fall deeper into darkness. We become Seekers solely after violence and self gain, hence the animalistic rages and tendencies- and hence, sharper canines resembling fangs... almost. Also, the strength of a Nullifier is also his greatest weakness. You see, his powers are bonded to his physical being. Almost all the spells he has used don't need to be summoned forth with a spoken spell. Just a thought or a slight whisper can send a fireball or electric orb flying towards your enemies. If your powers are gone, so are you. Meanwhile, you maintain inhuman strength, speed, and/or sight. Depending on how powerful you were as a Casterwill Seeker, determines how powerful you would be as an enemy. The more powerful, the worse you'd become- and yet, the stronger you can fight. Anyways, the appearances of Nullifiers and the fact that people went missing in the past - due to Nullifiers killing Seekers and not due to the supposed blood sucking rampage a vampire needed to survive on- vampires were born into the average person's mind and has evolved.

Why do you need to know this? Well, it would explain why I didn't fight Lok back. I couldn't use any spells. Not one. Lok had accidentally read that dark tome and due to his eidetic memory, he's using some of these spells against me. He was a powerful Seeker with a lot of potential and I have no trouble believing that he's picked up on all three Nullifier abilities. Since dark magic cancelled dark magic the best without any harm to the other party, my only choice would be to use dark magic. But if I did, I'd be using spells Lok had never even heard before, and added with his extraordinary hearing, I'd not only be deterring myself, but I'd risk his safety as well as the innocent bystanders if any come to help -thank God I was able to get Lok out of the perimeter of the manor. The protective shield instantly came up to shield everyone within the premises.

Lok fired a purple lightning bolt at me, but I deflected it back to him. He only caught it and hurled it at the shield startling the Seekers on the inside as it crashed against the surface. The shield was slowly turning pink, meaning it was weakening. It wasn't designed to take in so much dark magic and as I thought of it, a shield could only be cast up by a Seeker, sure an object could cast a shield over such an area, but a Seeker had to be the battery. I couldn't even spare a thought to think of who could be powering the shield before I was struck by Freelancer's lance.

On the field were Caliban, Metagolem, Freelancer, and Lindorm. Lok had successfully eliminated Solwing and I had taken out Kipperin. With a Dragon Fist, I shattered the lance and Caliban drove his sword into Freelancer's back sending the Titan back to its amulet. I staggered back as my shoulder began to ooze with blood.

I wouldn't fight Lok. Not him personally. I couldn't. Not even as his eyes glowed with an animalistic purple and I knew he was going to kill me in order to get to the people I was defending.

"Fight me!" Lok screamed, his voice edged with a growl.

It was never supposed to be anyone else. Not Eathon and Sandra's kid. No one but me was supposed to fall.

"No." I answered him, as I staunched the blood with a spell. Though it hurt like hell, at least I wasn't going to suffer from blood loss.

Lok seemed to scoff as he looked to the others behind me watching from the shield. "You can't protect them, Dante. They're weak. Weaker than the both of us."

This wasn't Lok. That was the evil inside everyone that was greedy, that wanted power- that possessed a Seeker tenfold in this case. That was what possessed a Seeker in Descent, their darker side that was being amplified with every passing minute.

"Listen, if you step aside, I'll let you live. Hell, I'll even heal you. I'll leave your woman alone and I won't hurt any of our friends." he said with a smile as he commanded his Titans to stand down. They broke away from combat with my Titans as Lok made his way over to me, his hands up in a gesture of peace.

_Easy, Caliban._ I told my friend as he moved defensively in front of me, but once he heard me he took a step back.

"You see," Lok started, "This isn't about fighting you. I just want to get the power of all those other powerful Seekers."

"What makes you say they're powerful?" I asked, stalling. The spell staunching my blood was a slow healing spell. If my shoulder healed, I would do my best to fight off Lok as I relayed a message to the others to evacuate. All I needed was a couple of minutes.

Lok smiled, a little offended. "Are you kidding? They've been hunted down by the Organization and now, these people- Almost everyone in that house are the only Seekers left. Survival of the fittest. Those people in that house are...strong. And I plan to take that strength."

"You and I both know, I've got more power than the most powerful one in there. Why are you letting me go but taking them?"

"Besides eliminating any threat to myself, I need the variety of knowledge of spells and Seeker secrets that all of those people know. As I take down person by person, I get stronger and maybe enough to take you down. You see, I don't need your power." He seemed to rethink what he said before he shrugged, "Okay, maybe I do. But I won't take your power until you're- yourself. You're no fun, when you're not well- at your best."

He meant when I finally lost my battle.

_Dante._

The voice was neither one of my Titans nor the dark part of me, that usually taunted me- especially lately. The voice was...

_Zhalia?_

_Dante, let us help you. Kevin, Ian, and I will-_

_Don't be reckless. This Lok has no intention of letting anyone go unhurt. He plans to drain all of our powers especially mine and Metz's. If anything get ready to run and tell Ian and Kevin to move Metz to the sanctum._

_Dante-_

"Focus on me," Lok shouted dragging my attention back to him and breaking my conversation. "I know you've got a bond to her. I know that there's something going on- and now, I know it's telepathic." He scoffed, "How cute."

"Lok, you can fight this." I said through grit teeth as a rage built inside me to wipe off that smirk from his face. It was bad enough I knew what he was thinking of doing, since the same thoughts were always in the back of my head, but worse to know that Lok had no control to reel in his dark side.

"You know Lok, Dante." said his possessed self, "He isn't that good in reeling in his emotions. Least of all, me. I've got a hold of him and I'm not letting go."

Logic and reason would not control whoever Lok was at the moment. Only a fight. Damn whatever danger was going to happen. I could feel the raging creature I knew I was becoming rip to the surface and take over me, I had little control over what I was doing, but I did have influence, unlike Lok at the moment.

Once my eyes turned electric blue, I saw Lok's smirk wipe away into a look of apprehension and caution. I called on a spell I once used to shatter the bones of a couple of Organization agents the last time they were as close to me as Lok was.

The teenager went flying back.

_Dante, be careful._ Caliban warned me as he turned in my direction, but I was far beyond listening. Something within me changed in that moment. I felt trapped- bound by lust for power and greed for strength.

Lok was right. Strength was the key.

I heard the teenager laugh, and it was dark. From the crater I had blown him into, he rose and brushed himself off laughing the whole time.

"Now, we're talkin'." said the teenager.

I had fallen into his trap and my control was gone.

_Zhalia_

I knew something snapped in him before the chaos broke out. When he and Lok turned to set forth blasts on the shield, many of the Seekers rushed back into the house, but I knew that even the manor wouldn't protect us from both of them. Lok's attacks, maybe, Dante's attacks? I knew we would be in deep trouble.

"What the hell is going on?" Sophie whispered through grit teeth.

"Ian! Kevin!" I screamed over people as they shuffled into the manor.

"Head back to the safehouses!" Sandra yelled to people as they rushed into the house and some Seekers started pouring out. I knew that they would get the essential people out first, the members of the Huntik Council if any were remaining would be taken out.

I recognized Castiel and Evan, the two who were trying to help restrain Lok earlier trailing the main group consisting of Jenna, Montehue, Kevin, and Ian, the latter of the two ran up to me, having heard me yell.

"You need to get Metz out of here and see if you can destroy or hide any spells, tomes, anything that-" I started when I saw a look on Ian's face that said part of what I was asking was impossible and something told it didn't have to do with the books.

"Miss Sophie, we need to take you out of here!" I heard LeBlanche shout to Sophie as he approached us, Santiago joining the fighting group who I saw were intending to take Dante and Lok head on.

"No!" Sophie protested moving out of her butler's protective reach.

I took Sophie's arm and held tightly. I knew she wanted to fight, that the same urge to save Lok and Dante was fueling me at the moment, as well as the others.

"Listen to me." I said, "You are a Casterwill and they are Nullifier possessed right now. The Foundation needs you, Sophie, and I don't mean in a casket. Go to your manor and stay there. I'll bring the boys back."

For a moment, it was quiet between us and you could feel the tension in the air. There were three ways this could go: she says yes and goes, she says no and we knock her unconscious, or she runs out to try and save Lok herself. I held my breath and prayed she wasn't reckless.

"You swear to me, Zhalia Moon." she said.

I smiled, with momentary relief. "Swear. Now, I suggest you go."

She followed LeBlanche as Ian yelled at him to take the back roads to avoid traffic of fleeing Seekers and get to safety faster. I turned to Kevin.

"Now, how is getting Metz out of here going to be impossible?" I asked Kevin, my interrogating voice taking over and the agent in me battling with my personal life. I was struggling to be purely professional and keep my head above the water.

"We need to get out there and keep them attacking something else!" Castiel pointed out.

"You are not going out there!" I shouted at him and Evan, "You two will be killed by their spells."

"Take the lead?" Ian asked as he made a gesture for me to step forward.

"Evan, Cas, fire spells at them from behind the shield. Jenna, Montehue, Ian, Santiago, we need offensive and defensive teams alternating spells, defend each other and attack at the same time. You'll be getting extra firepower from Cas and Evan." I said, receiving a nod from them. I turned to Kevin "You're coming with me."

I left the lawn for the manor, looking back before I disappeared into the manor to see that they had actually followed me. I had doubted they would, maybe alter the plan because I was still the enemy to them- but I was surprised when I saw them following my directions. Evan and Cas fired accurate spells that distracted and annoyed Dante and Lok, but they couldn't do anything with the heavy hitting they were getting from three aggressive powered Seekers using spells and striking all at once.

I ran into the manor hot on Kevin's heels as we made it to Metz room.

"Why is it-" I started to ask again as we reached the hallway that led to Metz room and Kevin seemed to slow as if he was wary to approach. I would have questioned him if I didn't hear Lady Ess ask for us to come in.

As I entered, I gasped and nearly drew back. "Oh my God."

Metz turned to me, his skin dark with blotches as if someone had thrown something and it was permanently plastered onto his skin. His skin was wrinkled around the eyes and the forehand and his hand looked like that of a withered man decade older than Metz was. I heard Kevin's choked back breath and I knew it was hard for him to see his mentor like this. For a moment, I was glad Dante was Nullifier-possessed. He might've broke and tried to heal Metz, but I knew that healing had nothing to do with this kind of effect.

My face hardened and I saw Lady Ess tense as if she were preparing to defend Metz against me. But I knew not to attack the leader and I wouldn't dare- not even think about it.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"What?" Lady Ess asked innocently.

"Don't screw around with me!" I shouted, "Dante and Lok are possessed and are causing Metz's conditions. Those are dark spells that are hurting him!"

I felt Kevin's arm come before me like a barricade to keep me from charging and letting my frustration go. The woman didn't seem to answer me and Metz couldn't speak at the moment. I knew he needed his concentration onf the spell.

"Where is the anchor?" I shrieked startling both Kevin and Lady Ess. The woman made a gesture towards the fireplace, but I was wrong. She had meant to point to the window behind the fireplace and Kevin opened it looking over the lawn and then up.

"Aw, shit." he cursed as he drew back and looked at me.

"What?" I asked as he looked defeated.

"The anchor is the weather vane that's on the top of the roof. We can climb but we'll attract attention." he said.  
It's risky/

I smiled. I loved risk. I love the adrenaline. I knew what kind of anchor Metz was using, a powerful Seeker and renowned in his day for being such, he had a vast reserve of energy, which I knew for sure could deflect the spells of a Nullifier but not two- especially one who was well versed in his powers and another who was a fledging- and new powers when manifested within a fledging are at its most powerful and reckless.

"I'll climb and you get down there and help them. Throw shields up and fire shots, but keep them away from the house." I instructed as I locked the window in its open position.

"I can ward the house if they get past us." replied Kevin as he nodded to me.

As he left, I turned to Metz. "You can't hold on to the shield much longer. Let it go."

He looked uncertain at first and forced a reply out of his dry throat, "Be...care- ful."

I nodded to him as he did drop the shield, the faded dome disappearing just as Kevin reached the group and threw up a large protective shield of his own.

"You better know what you're doing." I heard Lady Ess say as I climbed out of the window and climbed up the ladder that was steeled into the side of the roof. I figured that there would have been because the anchor needed to have some sort of access from one window, it turns out I picked the right one.

I scrambled up the ladder careful not to lose my footing when I felt a strong hand grab me by the shoulder and knock me off balance. The person held onto me as I was flipped onto my back. So much for Kevin's wards-

"Dante-" I started as I found myself staring at him and his electric blue eyes. "Dante, don't-"

He gave somewhat of a snort. "I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to." He leaned in close, "I am a part of Dante, sweetheart, not some Nullifier possessing him. I am his dark side unleashed. I don't care if you don't believe me but some feelings still remain."

I had a hard time believing that this would be what Dante would become, his darker, evil side was this intimidating, fierce man, who I saw knew what he wanted and wouldn't hesitate in taking it. Yet, I saw that he truly wouldn't hurt me. He was just stopping me, and giving me a subtle warning to stay out of his way.

"Right," I replied with a scoff, "You expect me to believe that you aren't going to go and take the power of the man you look up to as your father?"

"He's not my father." he growled his grip on my wrists tightening, "He lied to me."

I felt my flesh cut into the roof tile and I must have made some sort of sound that he released me and let go, floating away from me with a flight spell.

"Don't do this." I said to him as I inched towards the ladder to get a grip before I slid from the roof.

His face hardened and I saw the anger that welled up in him. Dante had the right to be angry, finding out his parentage and all and that his whole life he'd been lied to. All the repressed rage transferred to his darker, pent up and locked away side of himself and now he was going to take the power as well as life-force of his mentor.

I wasn't about to let Dante do something that he was going to regret.

"Don't try to stop me." he warned as he crashed through the window of Metz room. I heard some blast spells which I knew were coming from Lady Ess, before I got back on the ladder and made for the jeweled weather vane which was the anchor of the shield- the shield which had drained Metz of his power in order to defend everyone. Whatever connection Metz had to the vane was in the jewels. One of them had to be his and had to mean something to him in order for the anchor to work. Destroying the vane wouldn't help or give back any of the sapped power, but taking the jewel and pouring some of my energy into it might give Metz a chance to defend himself from Dante, if he made a move for his power.

I reached the vane and twirled it around looking for the shining jewel that would be glowing with magic. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I felt something hit my arm and cried out. The fireball which must have been deflected from a shield had burned through my sleeve and had burned flesh, allowing blood to break the surface. I frantically searched, turning the vane around and around. If I had been under less pressure and not injured, I probably would have spotted it a while ago, but it took a minute or two, before I finally found the jewel- a glowing moonstone white and emitting its own light.

It was just then I heard a yell of pain.

_No._ I thought as I reached out to Dante. I poured my power into the gem hoping that some of it would reach Metz. I climbed down the side of the roof, as quickly as I could. _Dante, STOP!_ I screamed mentally hoping that he could overpower himself and take control before things got out of hand.

Suddenly, I lost my footing and went sliding down the side of the ladder against the roof. I couldn't help but let a scream go as I went skittering down. I would've fell of the roof if my foot didn't catch against the metal ladder. I let a cry out as my ankle twisted, but my slide was stopped. Tears came to my eyes at the pain but I blinked them furiously away as I eased down and onto the flat platform that led to the room and landed with a crack that I knew broke something in my already twisted ankle.

I fell into the room and saw Metz, outstretched hand a white line streaming from his palm and the white wrapping around a furiously thrashing Dante who was pinned to the opposite wall, some feet up in the air.

I felt weak, as if- I was being drained from. Metz needed the power to calm Dante down and help him break out of it, so I wasn't one to cut off the energy flow. I just gave up power and my strength waned.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. "Let me take care of him." I said weakly, but the Council leader had heard me. He released Dante from the bind, and he fell to the ground on his feet.

"You're gonna pay for that." he shouted as he held both hands in front of him, lightning sizzling around his palms.

I got to my feet and at the last second threw myself in front of the lightning strike aimed for the ailing Seeker. The pain was white hot and light exploded all around me. Luckily, the pain wasn't long-

_NO!_ Dante's scream registered in my mind and I felt him break through, taking over and calling off the electric strike.

As I fell, I noticed Lady Ess lying against the opposite wall, unconscious and breathing. Dante's dark side wasn't a killer unless he needed to be- that thought came to mind as I buckled and hit the ground with a thud. He was beside me in an instant.

"Stupid move." he whispered as he held me. I didn't feel like losing consciousness, I only felt dizzy and I knew why. Dante was healing me, this time with no spell. He was pouring some of his energy through our bond and into me. I felt his warm magic pouring into the places that hurt, my ankle became numb and the burn wound was staunched of blood. The bruise from the lightning impact was fading fast.

"You're back aren't you." I whispered to him. Suddenly, my mind snapped back to our other problem. "Lok-"

We heard footsteps and we all turned to see Ian in the doorway. "Everyone here okay?"

"We're good." I said as Dante helped me up. My ankle wasn't in good condition but at least while it was numb, I could walk a while.

"We knocked Lok out and I think he'll wake up back to normal. I mean, it worked on you didn't it?" Ian asked Dante.

I threw him a questioning look, asking him what Ian meant via telepathy, but he shook his head in reply to me, telling me he'd explain it all later.

"Jesus Christ, Dante- what the hell'd you do?" Ian asked as he spotted Lady Ess, the broken window, and the burn marks against the wall.

"Dante." said Metz in a somber tone. "I need to talk to you."

I felt Dante tense as he turned to his mentor, his face an expression of apology. I looked between the two of them and knew that this conversation was inevitable.

"I'll just go." I said, excusing myself as I saw Ian lift Lady Ess off the ground.

"Ian, take Zhalia to the second safehouse." Metz instructed the other Seeker as he made for the door.

I saw, a flicker of emotion light Dante's eyes for a moment- that of shock was what I thought it to be.

"Zhalia, just wait there." Metz told me as I followed Ian out the door.

Ian put Lady Ess in an undamaged room before he came out and offered me a friendly arm. I just smiled as I took his arm.

"What happened out there?" I asked him, I hadn't glimpsed the battle while on the roof.

Ian just sighed. "It's rough facing down a guy that's a brother to you and a kid that doesn't know what he's doing."

I couldn't sympathize with the feeling but I did feel bad that he's been doing this for a couple of months.

"Where's the second safehouse?" I asked him.

"Not far." Ian replied with a smile.

"What?"

"Nothing." he answered as we spotted Montehue and the others. Lok was unconscious and lying on the couch as we entered the room.

I walked over to the teenager and brushed the hair away from his face. "Is he going to be alright?"

Jenna answered for the others. "He's going to be fine, if whatever's true for Dante holds up for Lok then he'll be fine."

"How did you guys manage to knock him out?" I asked as I stood, the pain slowly returning.

Castiel walked towards me and gently took my arm. "Let me tie that for you."

I thanked him as he ripped up what I thought to be a part of his shirt to bind my arm.

"Show off." I heard from Kevin as he turned to answer me. "Well, Lok was so concerned with us that he didn't notice Evan and Cas sneak around and blast him with a Force Blast."

"Yeah, well, two blasts oughtta knock him out we figured." Evan admitted as Castiel finished with my arm. I thanked him again before Ian cleared his throat.

"Oh, right." I muttered as I stood up. "Take care of him and as soon as he's up take him to Sophie's."

I stopped at the door and was about to the rest of them a question as they began to converse with each other, but stopped myself and turned to Ian as we walked out.

"Why did you all follow me?" I asked him. "You didn't trust me before, and don't say you did. You were worried I-"

He stopped me as we got to his Mercedes. "I didn't trust you completely but that didn't mean I don't know a sound plan when I hear one."

I didn't believe him and he read my expression.

"Listen, we all know Dante. He's smart- hell, he's one hell of a mastermind when it comes to it. He wouldn't fall for just any ordinary girl." Ian answered as he got into the car.

"What does that have to do with you guys listening to me?" I asked.

He laughed, "You don't get it do you?" He started the car.

I didn't bother shaking my head. Dante's emotion had nothing to do with them-

"You're a leader, Zhalia. Strong, persistent, and not willing to compromise when you know what needs to be done. You and Dante match perfectly."

They trusted Dante with their lives and they knew how he just screamed leader. I knew now, when they followed me they had just done three things: They acknowledged me as a leader one of their own that they should follow. They trusted me with their well-being and the safety of the others they were covering. And they accepted Dante and me.

I smiled at Ian and playfully punched him on the shoulder. As we backed out of the garage, I swear I saw something familiar at the edge of the forest. Something large- almost like Dante's Metagolem only that this Titan was rounder in figure. I had seen him once before- My heart stopped, but when I blinked it disappeared. My heart pounded.

They had accepted me as a Seeker for the Foundation, but somewhere deep inside I knew that if he came along I would be an Organization agent once more. Family and love was like blood and water. Was it? My head swirled and I was so confused and perplexed.

"You okay?" Ian asked me.

I nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah." I said. "I'm okay."

I remembered why I loved being a Huntik Seeker, you had friends everywhere who were ready to stand behind you, but at Organization, you had the respect and power anyone could dream of and my family was there.

At that moment, I wished I was never a double agent.

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**_Hope you liked it. I'll try updating sooner._**

**_-Phoenix ~^~_**


	16. Chapter 15: Not Long

**_Happy Halloween! I've done my best to come up with a good follow-up but I'm afraid I've failed and I've only come up with this. The next chapter is going to bring together our favorite couple. Hooray for fans, but here's the prelude. This chapter also has some bits about the past and also gives sheds some light on a family tree. Sophie isn't in this POV chapter and she won't be back for a couple of chapters because well, this is going to be critical for DZ fans._**

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Chapter Fifteen: Not Long

_Dante_

Metz stared at me. His dark eyes boring a hole right through me. Guilt flowed instantly and I apologized even fell to my bruised and injured knees. I couldn't believe the thought of killing him came to my mind so easily and I couldn't even fight it to save him, yet when the hit struck Zhalia, I broke it. Somehow, I had made the choice between love and family, my mind choosing to break my other self for Zhalia rather than Metz.

"No." he said weakly, his voice hoarse.

"If it hurts to talk-" I cut in as I took his hand, but the man shook his head.

"No, I am simply fading." Metz answered, "That is all. I do not have much longer."

He turned to me, his eyes kinder than before as if I had done nothing...as if I were an innocent, lost child. The boy I was when he adopted me. I hated pity and that part of me flared with anger, but I tamed it.

"Listen to me, Dante, I may have lied to you about your father, but that doesn't mean that man is your _father_." he said, "I always thought you to be my son, never his."

I looked guiltily away. "I'm sorry," I apologized, this time not for my anger earlier but for never saying what he had always wanted to hear. From a young age, I had always held an idealized version of my father being some shot-down Seeker, lost on a mission, a missing in action Huntik agent, and never once had I even called Metz, the man who was more of a father to me that anyone, anything but 'Metz.'

"There is something else you should know." he said to me. "Your mother-"

I froze. I had always thought my mother was dead- died long before I could remember. I heard she was a beautiful, Seeker, powerful in her own right and more of a warrior than a healer, which female Seekers had been strong in within her generation.

"Her name was Diane." he whispered in that tender voice one which I used when talking about...Zhalia.

I looked up and stared at him, but he was far away. Far from the room in a world of his own. "Diane was the fiercest Seeker we knew, your father and me. While Eathon was at school, Simon, Diane, and I would always go on missions that Tarrener, the Huntik Missions Operative at that time, would give us. And the inevitable happened-"

"You fell in love with her." I answered, the answer was obvious. I felt like I was the listener to an epic romance, but being a male, it kind of lost its fairy tale feel to me.

He only smiled, his eyes still glazed over as if he were reliving a special memory only for him to see. "Yes. So did Simon. But I was more like you- more of a rebel against the status quo, taking risks and not giving a damn to the consequences. It ruined whatever I had with Diane and she went with Simon, who was always there for and always reliable. They were only together for several months before-"

He didn't need to say anymore. It was before Simon had taken the Araknos ring and had become cursed. Then his fall came about that resulted in the rise of the Professor, the man we never knew existed until I had turned twenty one and he had started wreaking havoc around the globe.

"And Diane?" I asked. "What happened to her?"

"It's complicated." he said as he finally broke out of his trance and turned to me. "You see, back then, we believed in Seers and there was one prominent Seeress named Cassandra. Of course, we should have figured out what her name meant from then, but no- Instead, we listened to her. All of us, including Diane no matter how much it hurt her."

I dreaded to hear what came next. But it had already happened, no matter how much I wanted to not hear what happened next, I knew I had to listen.

"Cassandra predicted that you- Diane's son- you would bring about the end of the Foundation." he said, and I paled. "And we all believed her. I'm afraid, even I did. When you were born, Diane wanted to see you before she gave you up for adoption, hoping that a life without the influence of Titans and all would keep Cassandra's prophecy from coming true, but- Cassandra went insane.

"She took you and disappeared with you. It took weeks before I finally tracked her down and found her. You were safe and sound-"

"Wait!" I said, interrupting him, "Why did Cassandra take me? Was she a fake psychic?"

"No, but she was a high ranking Foundation official. She opposed our current views thinking them too radical and saw that you would lead the generation that would lead a massive change within the Foundation and she preferred things the way they were because- well in her case and her children's case they would all be guaranteed excellent positions. Like royalty, back then Seekers were born into a position. You were born as practically a prince to the Foundation, the only one in your generation. But she could not kill you, because then the future would change and someone else would only take up the destiny that she had refused you. So, instead she kept you alive to train in her way of life- to make you, in a way, an Elitist in the Seeker world." Metz answered, "She hid very well, if I may say. I was able to find you though and bring you back, but Cassandra passed another prophecy before she died-"

"You killed her?" I asked shocked. My kills were documented and broadcasted, something that haunted me, but Metz. I didn't think that the need to kill had been so great back then.

"She was a traitor that kidnapped a ranked prince, Dante." he tried to explain, but I couldn't understand. It was a hard concept to wrap my head around, that I was royalty, or would have been in a former world. "She threatened my life, the lives of everyone in the Foundation, and Diane's and I- I couldn't allow that!" His voice was so passionate that I believe he wanted to yell, but couldn't. Yet, it was the loudest I had ever heard him raise his voice to. "I had to."

I nodded as a silence took hold of the conversation for a handful of moments before I got the topic back on course. "My mother." I prompted.

Metz shook his head. "The prophecy said, if I were ever to give you back to your mother then, you would never know the life of a Seeker and a great Shadow will cover the world and destroy freedom of both Seekers and the rest of the human race. Diane would still give you up for adoption so that you know no life of Titans. Yet, if I were to take you in and raise you to be a Seeker, then humanity, both Seekers and others, would have the chance to defeat the great Shadow. There was no choice: sacrifice the future of everyone or give us a chance to defeat whatever came our way.

"You, presently as you are, are the evidence of my decision. A world class Seeker, ranked #1 in the world in this Foundation-" he cut himself short, "Yet, I've taken so much from you-"

I stood up and walked to the windows, from where I stood I looked out upon the damage the battles had taken on the beautiful green lawn, "A normal life was not what I was born into. You put me on the right path. I would never have someone else suffer what I am. No one deserves this-"

"This was something you were born to do, Dante. You must understand that."

"I do."

"Your mother didn't want it for you, but she didn't know that you were destined to shoulder many burdens of the future- she didn't know until after she had a daughter."

I froze. A daughter. My mother had a daughter. I- I had a- I forgot how to breathe. My heart forgot how to beat properly and I felt my breathing short when I had breath once more.

"Diane moved on with a push from me. I helped her see that she didn't need to end her life and all her work because of one incident. I pushed her towards the only good man I knew that was worthy of her. Charles Casterwill." Metz said pausing before he had said the name,

I whirled around. "Sophie?"

"Yes."

"She- No, she can't be-"

"She is, Dante. She's your sister."

_Xalia_

Ian had dropped me off at the safe house, which looked more like a beautiful two story house than a safehouse. It was built in the middle of nowhere and hidden safely from view, the roof covered with camouflage nets which was the only indicator that it was no regular house.

We had reached it in under an hour and the signs of sunset were being made blatant by the diminishing light and the dark sky that was waiting to take over. I thanked Ian for the ride and let him begin his trip home. I had nothing more with me other than what was in small satchel that Sophie had given me when I had woken up. Ian had given me the only other key to the safe house besides the one that Dante had, and I used it to enter. I was surprised it wasn't as high tech in protection as Seeker's houses were.. Though I guess the high tech security would also cause a very high electrical surge which would be recorded in a survey. It would be a suspicious place for a high reading especially in the middle of a wooded area.

I entered the house and switched on the lights surprised to find it was neat. There was no dust anywhere, as if someone had regularly cleaned the place, and it looked as if it were lived in. There were books out on the tables. There were notes scattered on the couches in the den. There were Titans in a desk that I searched and many, many weapons stashed away in a broom closet. There was practically a stuffed fridge with anything and everything one could ask for. On the second floor there were three bedrooms, a small library, and what looked to be a rec room with video games and game tables- it was the only room that had gathered dust. I didn't disturb it.

Instead, I headed into one of the bedrooms and crashed down on the large bed. It felt so good to rest on such a soft place after today and the past two days. It was, after all, chaotic. As I was drifting into sleep, I realized that it's been a while since I'd taken a shower, a couple days or so.

I ran to the closest closet and threw open the doors, there were clothes in it...perfect for me as if someone had gone through the trouble of picking out clothes. I headed towards the bathroom.

_Lok_

_Dante doesn't deserve the power he has. He's holding back and that's what's gonna make him weak in the end. He actually doesn't care that much about power when he's his normal self, but when that dark side of his takes control- whoa, it's like-_

Shut up! I yelled at the side of me that had been controlling my actions earlier. I couldn't stand it. Thank God for Castiel and Evan had knocked me out. I could have seriously injured someone back there because I wanted power. It was a depressing feeling that just took over. I felt ravenous for something I knew I couldn't completely have. There would be no power that could quell whatever I had awoken- and that was what was scaring me.

I groaned as I stirred. I heard whispers but it all faded as soon as I got up and a ringing in my head drowned out their near inaudible voices. I opened my eyes.

Montehue, Kevin, Cas, and Evan were leaning over me.

"You okay, kid?" Kevin asked me worriedly.

"Yeah, buddy, you good?" Evan asked. He looked a little guilty, and I wanted to tell him he had nothing to feel guilty about but I was still in pain. My muscles began to seize and my head began to feel as if I were being slammed into a pavement repeatedly.

I cried out through grit teeth as I winced. Kevin and Montehue held my arms and legs down and soon I felt smooth hands against my forehead and someone chanting something softly.

"Hang on there, you're gonna be fine." Montehue assured me as the ringing began to die down.

When the seizures and the spasms finally stopped and my body seemed to relax, I looked up into the worried faces of my friends.

"Man, you had scared there for a second." Castiel said, "I thought you were goin' dark on us again and we'd have to give you a concussion or something."

I laughed at that, which gave the others something to grin at instead of frowning and looking so serious.

"Naw, I'm fine. I just have to figure out how to control this." I said as I glanced down at my hands.

I don't think I was ever scared in my entire life. I had something... an ability, which only took a thought to activate and I had nearly hurt so many people while causing others to evacuate the manor, one of the safest place Seekers had left in the world. I was dangerous and I was scared- it was a terrible combination I knew but I couldn't help feel any other way. There was no way I could go back to Sophie or even visit her. What if something happened and my Nullifier side was triggered and went into a rage that neither Santiago or LeBlanche could stop- I would hurt her and those she cares about.

My hands clenched and I quenched the rage at myself that I felt building. I would leave that issue alone. I won't think about it. In the meanwhile, I would look for a way to control this- then I would go visit Sophie, possibly to tell her that we shouldn't be together-

It was then that we heard footsteps descending. We all turned to look at the stairs and saw Dante, come down. He looked a little worse for wear, there was a fresh gash on his cheek and he looked like he sustained some pretty bad injuries from the battle earlier, and they weren't treated, but his injuries were staunched.

When he reached the floor, no one said a word as he made for the door. Only then did Kevin get to his feet.

"Ian took her to your safe house." he informed him.

Dante turned to us, but when he saw me I saw his face light up a little. He turned away from the door and walked towards me.

"Lok?" he asked cautiously as if he were testing waters.

I smiled. "I'm not gonna kill you."

He laughed as he hugged me, like I knew he would. It felt good to have that fatherly protection he always offered every time. He muttered something under his breath and I felt my breath leave me for a moment as if something was being locked up. When I let go of him, I thought I couldn't balance but his hand remained on my shoulder helping me.

"You don't have to worry about your dark side anymore." he whispered. "As long as I live, it'll be under control."

There was something he wasn't saying and I saw the others tense and take a deep breath when he said that. I wanted to ask them what he was saying, but then we heard a car pull into the driveway and lights flash into the living room for a moment.

Ian was in the room, a minute later and looking at us. He looked shock to see me up.

"You good, Lok?" he asked me.

I nodded, though out of the corner of my eye I saw Kevin shake his head and eye Dante as if trying to give Ian a message that only he could understand, but if Ian did understand, he gave no indication that he did. He just stood by the door, holding it open. He tossed the keys of the car to Dante.

"We'll be safe for a while." he said, though there was something underlying his tone that implied a hidden message. This time one that Dante understood. He nodded before he turned back to me.

"Listen, this means that you're fine. No darkness will ever take over you until I stop breathing." he clarified. "We won't be in action for a couple of days, give or take, so that means we have that much time in our hands to spend as we please until we all meet back and-"

"All hell breaks loose." I finish for him with a smile. He smiles in return as he ruffles my hair. He turned to the others.

"That goes for the rest of you as well." he said meeting each of their stares.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kevin said with a wave, "I'll take care of these guys getting back to their places. You just go and stitched up, hear us?"

Dante nodded and I pushed him towards the door with a smile. "See ya soon. And get stitched, m'kay?"

He smiled, "Go to your mom and sister. Go to Sophie."

I nodded. "Go to Zhalia."

I never saw such a look in his eyes. It was pained and yet, joyful at the same time. He left and disappeared off on the road.

When I returned to the house, people looked more distraught than relaxed. "What?" I asked.

But a part of me knew. When he said, 'as long as he lived' he didn't mean long at all. Not long.

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**_Yes, this chapter has three viewpoints a change from the regular, but I guess that's alright. In the next chapter I'm deciding between Dante or Zhalia's point of view. _**

**_Well, please review. I've been busy so, it's gonna take a long while before something gets up but I'll try for three weeks or maybe two. Depends on the feedback and the inspiration._**

**_-Phoenix~^~_**


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